
COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT, 



THE 



Vigilantes of Montana, 



OR, 



POPULAR JUSTICE IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 



BEING A CORRECT AND IMPARTIAL NARRATIVE OF THE CHASE, TRIAL 
CAPTURE, AND EXECUTION OF 



Henry Plummer's Road Agent Band, 



Together with accounts of the Lives and Crimes of many of the Robbers and 
Desperadoes, the whole being interspersed with sketches of Life in the 



MINING CAMPS OF THE "FAR WEST." 



By PROF. THOS. J. DIMSDALE. 



SECOND EDITION. 



I 
VIRGINIA CITY, M. T. : 
D. W. TILTON, PUBLISHER' 

1882. 






\ 
V 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1882, 

By D. W. TILTON, 

In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



S. W. Green's Son, 

Printer, Electrotyper and Binder, 

74 and 76 Beekman Street, 

NEW YORK. 



■f?C» -I&9 



PREFACE. 



The object of the writer in presenting this narrative 
to the public is twofold. His intention is, in the first 
place, to furnish a correct history of an organization 
administering justice without the sanction of consti- 
tutional law; and secondly, to prove not only the 
necessity for their action, but the equity of their 
proceedings. 

Having an intimate acquaintance with parties cog- 
nizant of the facts related, and feeling certain of the 
literal truth of the statements contained in this his- 
tory, he offers it to the people of the United States, 
with the belief that its perusal will greatly modify the 
views of those even who are most prejudiced against 
the summary retribution of mountain law, and with 
the conviction that all honest and impartial men will 
be willing to admit both the wisdom of the course 
pursued and the salutary effect of the rule of the 
Vigilantes in the Territory of Montana. 

It is also hoped that the history of the celebrated 
body, the very mention of whose name sounded as a 
death-knell in the ears of the murderers and Road 
Agents, will be edifying and instructive to the general 
reader. The incidents related are neither trivial in 
themselves, nor unimportant in their results; and, 



4 PREFACE. 

while rivalling fiction in interest, are unvarnished 
accounts of transactions, whose fidelity can be vouched 
by thousands. 

As a literary production, the author commits it to 
the examination of the critical without a sigh. If any 
of these author-slayers are inclined to be more severe 
in their judgment than he is himself, he trusts they 
will receive the reward to which their justice entitles 
them ; and if they should pass it by he cannot but 
think that they will exercise a sound discretion, and 
avoid much useless labor. With all its imperfections, 
here it is. 

THOS. J. DlMSDALE. 



CHAPTER I. 

INTRODUCTORY — VIGILANCE COMMITTEES. 
" The teeth that bite hardest are out of sight" — Prov. 

The end of all good government is the safety and 
happiness of the governed. It is not possible that a high 
state of civilization and progress can be maintained unless 
the tenure of life and property is secure; and it follows 
that the first efforts of a people in a new country for the 
inauguration of the reign of peace, the sure precursor of 
prosperity and stability, should be directed to the accom- 
plishment of this object. In newly settled mining dis- 
tricts, the necessity for some effective organization of a 
judicial and protective character is more keenly felt than 
it is in other places, where the less exciting pursuits of 
agriculture and commerce mainly attract the attention 
and occupy the time of the first inhabitants. 

There are good reasons for this difference. The first is 
the entirely dissimilar character of the populations; and 
the second, the possession of vast sums of money by 
uneducated and unprincipled people, in all places where 
the precious metals may be obtained at the cost of the 
labor necessary to exhume them from the strata in which 
they lie concealed. 

In an agricultural country, the life of the pioneer 
settler is always one of hard labor, of considerable priva- 
tion, and of more or less isolation; while the people who 
seek to clear a farm in the wild forest, or who break up 
the virgin soil of the prairies are usually of the steady 
and hard-working classes, needing little assistance from 
courts of justice to enable them to maintain rights which 
are seldom invaded; and whose differences, in the early 
days of the country, are, for the most part, so slight as 
to be scarcely worth the cost of a litigation more compli- 



6 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

cated than a friendly and, usually, gratuitous, arbitration 
— submitted to the judgment of the most respected 
among the citizens. 

In marked contrast to the peaceful life of the tiller of 
the soil, and to the placid monotony of his pursuits are 
the turbulent activity, the constant excitement, and the 
perpetual temptations to which the dweller in a mining 
camp is subject, both during his sojourn in the gulches, 
or, if he be given to prospecting, in his frequent and 
unpremeditated change of location, commonly called a 
"stampede." There can scarcely be conceived a greater 
or more apparent difference than exists between the 
staid and sedate inhabitants of rural districts, and the 
motley group of miners, professional men and merchants, 
thickly interspersed with sharpers, refugees, and a full 
selection from the dangerous classes that swagger, armed 
to the teeth, through the diggings and infest the roads 
leading to the newly discovered gulches, where lies the 
object of their worship — Gold. 

Fortunately the change to a better state of things is 
rapid, and none who now walk the streets of Virginia 
would believe that, within two years of this date, the 
great question to be decided was, which was the stronger, 
right or might? 

And here it must be stated, that the remarks which 
truth compels us to make, concerning the classes of indi- 
viduals which furnish the law-defying element of mining 
camps, are in no wise applicable to the majority of the 
people, who, while exhibiting the characteristic energy of 
the American race in the pursuit of wealth, yet maintain, 
under every disadvantage, an essential morality, which is 
the more creditable since it must be sincere, in order to 
withstand the temptations to which it is constantly ex- 
posed. "Oh, cursed thirst of gold," said the ancient, 
and no man has even an inkling of the truth and force of 
the sentiment, till he has lived where gold and silver are 
as much the objects of desire, and of daily and laborious 
exertion, as glory and promotion are to the young soldier. 
Were it not for the preponderance of this conservative 
body of citizens, every camp in remote and recently dis- 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 7 

covered mineral regions would be a field of blood; and 
where this is not so, the fact is proof irresistible that the 
good is in sufficient force to control the evil, and eventu- 
ally to bring order out of chaos. 

Let the reader suppose that the police of New York 
were withdrawn for twelve months, and then let them 
picture the wild saturnalia which would take the place of 
the order that reigns there now. If, then, it is so hard to 
restrain the dangerous classes of old and settled commu- 
nities, what must be the difficulty of the task, when, ten- 
fold in number, fearless in character, generally well 
armed, and supplied with money to an extent unknown 
among their equals in the east, such men find themselves 
removed from the restraints of civilized society, and 
beyond the control of the authority which there enforces 
obedience to the law ? 

Were it not for the sterling stuff of which the mass of 
miners is made, their love of fair play, and their prompt 
and decisive action in emergencies, this history could 
never have been written, for desperadoes of every nation 
would have made this country a scene of bloodshed and 
a sink of iniquity such as was never before witnessed. 

Together with so much that is evil, nowhere is there 
so much that is sternly opposed to dishonesty and vio- 
lence as in the mountains; and though careless of exter- 
nals and style, to a degree elsewhere unknown, the in- 
trinsic value of manly uprightness is nowhere so clearly 
exhibited and so well appreciated as in the Eldorado of 
the west. Middling people do not live in these regions. 
A man or a woman becomes better or worse by a trip 
towards the Pacific. The keen eye of the experienced 
miner detects the impostor at a glance, and compels his 
entire isolation, or his association with the class to which 
he rightfully belongs. 

Thousands of weak-minded people return, after a stay 
in the mountains, varying in duration from a single day 
to a year, leaving the field where only the strong of heart 
are fit to battle with difficulty, and to win the golden 
crown which is the reward of persevering toil and un- 
bending firmness. There is no man more fit to serve his 



8 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

country in any capacity requiring courage, integrity, and 
self-reliance, than an " honest miner," who has been tried 
and found true by a jury of mountaineers. 

The universal license that is, at first, a necessity of 
position in such places, adds greatly to the number of 
crimes, and to the facilities for their perpetration. Sa- 
loons, where poisonous liquors are vended to all comers, 
.and consumed in quantities sufficient to drive excitable 
men to madness and to the commission of homicide, on 
the slightest provocation, are to be found in amazing 
numbers, and the villainous compounds there sold, under 
the generic name of whiskey, are more familiarly distin- 
guished by the cognomens of u Tangle-leg," " Forty- 
rod," "Lightning," " Tarantula-juice," etc., terms only 
too truly describing their acknowledged qualities. 

The absence of good female society, in any due pro- 
portion to the numbers of the opposite sex, is likewise an 
evil of great magnitude; for men become rough, stern 
and cruel, to a surprising degree, under such a state of 
things. 

In every frequent street, public gambling houses with 
open doors and loud music, are resorted to, in broad day- 
light, by hundreds — it might almost be said — of all tribes 
and tongues, furnishing another fruitful source of " diffi- 
culties," which are commonly decided on the spot, by an 
appeal to brute force, the stab of a knife, or the discharge 
of a revolver. Women of easy virtue are to be seen 
promenading through the camp, habited in the gayest 
and most costly apparel, and receiving fabulous sums for 
their purchased favors. In fact, all the temptations to 
vice are present in full display, with money in abundance 
to secure the gratification of the desire for novelty and 
excitement, which is the ruling passion of the moun- 
taineer. 

One " institution," offering a shadowy and dangerous 
substitute for more legitimate female association, deserves 
a more peculiar notice. This is the " Hurdy-Gurdy" 
house. As soon as the men have left off work, these 
places are opened, and dancing commences. Let the 
reader picture to himself a large room, furnished with a 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 9 

bar at one end — where champagne at $12 (in gold) per 
bottle, and " drinks" at twenty-five to fifty cents, are 
wholesaled (correctly speaking) — and divided, at the 
end of this bar, by a railing running from side to side. 
The outer enclosure is densely crowded (and, on partic- 
ular occasions, the inner one also) with men in every 
variety of garb that can be seen on the continent. Be- 
yond the barrier sit the dancing women, called " hurdy- 
gurdies," sometimes dressed in uniform, but, more gen- 
erally, habited according to the dictates -of individual 
caprice, in the finest clothes that money can buy, and 
which are fashioned in the most attractive styles that 
fancy can suggest. On one side is a raised orchestra. 
The music suddenly strikes up, and the summons, " Take 
your partners for the next dance," is promptly answered 
by some of the male spectators, w T ho paying a dollar in 
gold for a ticket, approach the ladies' bench, and — in 
style polite, or otherwise, according to antecedents — in- 
vite one of the ladies to dance. 

The number being complete, the parties take their 
places, as in any other dancing establishment, and pause 
for the performance of the introductory notes of the air. 

Let us describe a first class dancer — " sure of a partner 
every time" — and her companion. There she stands at 
the head of the set. She is of middle height, of rather 
full and rounded form; her complexion as pure as ala- 
baster, a pair of dangerous looking hazel eyes, a slightly 
Roman nose, and a small and prettily formed mouth. 
Her auburn hair is neatly banded and gathered in a 
tasteful, ornamented net, with a roll and gold tassels at 
the side. How sedate she looks during the first figure, 
never smiling till the termination of " promenade, eight," 
when she shows her little white hands in fixing her hand- 
some brooch in its place, and settling her glistening ear- 
rings. See how nicely her scarlet dress, with its broad 
black band round the skirt, and its black edging, sets off 
her dainty figure. No wonder that a wild mountaineer 
would be willing to pay — not one dollar, but all that he 
has in his purse, for a dance and an approving smile 
from so beautiful a woman. 



10 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

Her cavalier stands six feet in his boots, which come 
to the knee, and are garnished with a pair of Spanish 
spurs, with rowels and bells like young water wheels. 
His buckskin leggings are fringed at the seams, and 
gathered at the waist with a U. S. belt, from which hangs 
his loaded revolver and his sheath knife. His neck is 
bare, muscular and embrowned by exposure, as is also 
his bearded face, whose sombre hue is relieved by a pair 
of piercing dark eyes. His long black hair hangs down 
beneath his wide felt hat, and, in the corner of his mouth 
is a cigar, which rolls like the lever of an eccentric, as 
he chews the end in his mouth. After an amazingly 
grave salute, "all hands round" is shouted by the 
prompter, and off bounds the buckskin hero, rising and 
falling to the rhythm of the dance, with a clumsy agility 
and a growing enthusiasm, testifying his huge delight. 
His fair partner, with practised foot and easy grace, 
keeps time to the music like a clock, and rounds to her 
place as smoothly and gracefully as a swan. As the 
dance progresses, he of the buckskins gets excited, and 
nothing but long practice prevents his partner from be- 
ing swept off her feet, at the conclusion of the miner's 
delight, "set your partners/' or "gents to the right." 
An Irish tune or a hornpipe generally finishes the set, 
and then the thunder of heel and toe, and some amazing 
demivoltes are brought to an end by the aforesaid "gents 
to the right," and "promenade to the bar," which last 
closes the dance. After a treat, the barkeeper mechan- 
ically raps his blower as a hint to " weigh out," the ladies 
sit down, and with scarcely an interval, a waltz, polka, 
shottische, mazurka, varsovienne, or another quadrille 
commences. 

All varieties of costume, physique and demeanor can 
be noticed among the dancers — from the gayest colors 
and "loudest" styles of dress and manner, to the snugly 
fitted black silk, and plain white collar, which sets off 
the neat figure of the blue-eyed, modest looking Anglo. 
Saxon. Yonder, beside the tall and tastily clad German 
brunette you see the short curls, rounded tournure and 
smiling face of an Irish girl; indeed, representatives of 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA, II 

almost every dancing nation of white folks may be seen 
on the floor of the Hurdy-Gurdy house. The earnings 
of the dancers are very different in amount. That dan- 
cer in the low-necked dress, with the scarlet " waist," a 
great favorite and a really good dancer, counted fifty 
tickets into her lap before " The last dance, gentlemen," 
followed by " Only this one before the girls go home," 
which wound up the performance. Twenty-six dollars 
is a great deal of money to earn in such a fashion; but 
fifty sets of quadrilles and four waltzes, two of them for 
the love of the thing, is very hard work. 

As a rule, however, the professional " hurdies" are Teu- 
tons, and, though first-rate dancers, they are, with some 
few exceptions, the reverse of good looking. 

The dance which is most attended, is one in which 
ladies to whom pleasure is dearer than fame, represent 
the female element, and, as may be supposed, the evil 
only commences at the Dance House. It is not uncom- 
mon to see one of these sirens with an " outfit" worth 
from seven to eight hundred dollars, and many of them 
invest with merchants and bankers thousands of dollars 
in gold, the rewards and presents they receive, especially 
the more highly favored ones, being more in a week than 
a well-educated girl would earn in two years in an East- 
ern city. 

In the Dance House you can see Judges, the Legisla- 
tive corpsj and every one but the Minister. He never 
ventures further than to engage in conversation with a 
friend at the door, and while intently watching the per- 
formance, lectures on the evil of such places with con- 
siderable force; but his attention is evidently more fixed 
upon the dancers than on his lecture. Sometimes may 
be seen grey-haired men dancing, their wives sitting at 
home in blissful ignorance of the proceeding. There 
never was a dance house running, for any length of time, 
in the first days of a mining town, in which " shooting 
scrapes" do not occur; equal proportions of jealousy, 
whiskey and revenge being the stimulants thereto. Bil- 
liard saloons are everywhere visible, with a bar attached, 
and hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent there. 



12 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

As might be anticipated, it is impossible to prevent quar- 
rels in these places, at all times, and, in the mountains, 
whatever weapon is handiest — foot, fist, knife, revolver, 
or derringer — it is instantly used. The authentic, and, 
indeed, literally exact accounts which follow in the 
course of this narrative will show that the remarks we 
have made on the state of society in a new mining coun- 
try, before a controlling power asserts its sway, are in 
no degree exaggerated, but fall short of the reality, as 
all description must. 

One marked feature of social intercourse, and (after 
indulgence in strong drink) the most fruitful source of 
quarrel and bloodshed is the all-pervading custom of 
using strong language on every occasion. Men will say 
more than they mean, and the unwritten code of the 
miners, based on a wrong view of what constitutes man- 
hood, teaches them to resent by force what should be 
answered by silent contempt. 

Another powerful incentive to wrong-doing is the ab- 
solute nullity of the civil law in such cases. No matter 
what may be the proof, if the criminal is well liked in 
the community, " Not Guilty" is almost certain to be the 
verdict of the jury, despite the efforts of the Judge and 
prosecutor. If the offender is a moneyed man, as well as 
a popular citizen, the trial is only a farce — grave and 
prolonged, it is true, but capable of only one termination 
— a verdict of acquittal. In after days, when police 
magistrates in cities can deal with crime, they do so 
promptly. Costs are absolutely frightful, and fines tre- 
mendous. An assault provoked by drunkenness fre- 
quently costs a man as much as thrashing forty different 
policemen would do, in New York. A trifling " tight" is 
worth from $20 to $50 in dust, all expenses told, and so 
on. One grand jury that we wot of presented that it 
would be better to leave the punishment of offenders to 
the Vigilantes, who always acted impartially, and who 
would not permit the escape of proved criminals on tech- 
nical and absurd grounds — than to have justice defeated, 
as in a certain case named. The date of that document 
is not ancient, and though, of course, refused and de- 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 1 3 

stroyed, it was the deliberate opinion, on oath, of the 
Grand Inquest, embodying the sentiment of thousands 
of good citizens in the community. 

Finally, swift and terrible retribution is the only pre- 
ventive of crime, while society is organizing in the far 
West. The long delay of justice, the wearisome proceed- 
ings, the remembrance of old friendships, etc., create a 
sympathy for the offender, so strong as to cause a hatred 
of the avenging law, instead of inspiring a horror of the 
crime. There is something in the excitement of contin- 
ued stampedes that makes men of quick temperaments 
uncontrollably impulsive. In the moment of passion, 
they would slay all round them; but let the blood cool, 
and they would share their last dollar with the men 
whose life they sought a day or two before. 

Habits of thought rule communities more than laws, 
and the settled opinion of a numerous class is, that call- 
ing a man a liar, a thief, or a son of a b h is provoca- 
tion sufficient to justify instant slaying. Juries do not 
ordinarily bother themselves about the lengthy instruc- 
tion they hear read by the court: They simply consider 
whether the deed is a crime against the Mountain Code ; 
and if not, "not guilty" is the verdict, at once returned. 
Thieving, or any action which a miner calls mean, will 
surely be visited with condign punishment, at the hands 
of a Territorial jury. In such cases mercy there is none; 
but, in affairs of single combats, assaults, shootings, stab- 
bings, and highway robberies, this civil law, with its 
positively awful expense and delay, is worse than use- 
less. 

One other main point requires to be noticed. Any per- 
son of experience will remember that the universal story 
of criminals, who have expiated their crimes on the scaf- 
fold, or who are pining away in the hardships of invol- 
untary servitude — tells of habitual Sabbath breaking. 
This sin is so general in newly discovered diggings in 
the mountains that a remonstrance usually produced no 
more fruit than a few jocular oaths and a laugh. Religion 
is said to be " played out," and a professing Christian 
must keep straight, indeed, or he will be suspected of 



14 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

being a hypocritical member of a tribe, to whom it would 
be very disagreeable to talk about hemp. 

Under these circumstances, it becomes an absolute ne- 
cessity that good, law-loving, and order-sustaining men 
should unite for mutual protection, and for the salvation 
of the community. Being united, they must act in har- 
mony; repress disorder; punish crime, and prevent out- 
rage, or their organization would be a failure from the 
start, and society would collapse in the throes of anarchy. 
None but extreme penalties inflicted with promptitude 
are of any avail to quell the spirit of the desperadoes 
with whom they have to contend; considerable numbers 
are required to cope successfully with the gangs of mur- 
derers, desperadoes and robbers who infest mining coun- 
tries, and who, though faithful to no other bond, yet all 
league willingly against the law. Secret they must be, 
in council and membership, or they will remain nearly 
useless for the detection of crime, in a country where 
equal facilities for the transmission of intelligence are at 
the command of the criminal and the judiciary; and an 
organization on this footing is a Vigilance Committee. 

Such was the state of affairs, when five men in Vir- 
ginia, and four in Bannack, initiated the movement which 
resulted in the formation of a tribunal, supported by an 
omnipresent executive, comprising within itself nearly 
every good man in the Territory, and pledged to render 
impartial justice, to friend and foe, without regard to 
clime, creed, race or politics. In a few short weeks it 
was known that the voice of justice had spoken, in tones 
that might not be disregarded. The face of society was 
changed, as if by magic; for the Vigilantes, holding in 
one hand the invisible yet effectual shield of protection, 
and in the other, the swift descending and inevitable 
sword of retribution, struck from his nerveless grasp the 
weapon of the assassin; commanded the brawler to cease 
from strife; warned the thief to steal no more; bade the 
good citizen take courage, and compelled the ruffians 
and marauder who had so long maintained the " reign of 
terror" in Montana, to fly the Territory, or meet the just 
rewards of their crimes. Need we say that they were at 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. I 5 

once obeyed ? yet not before more than one hundred val- 
uable lives had been pitilessly sacrificed and twenty-four 
miscreants had met a dog's doom as the reward of their 
crimes. 

To this hour, the whispered words, "Virginia Vigi- 
lantes" would blanch the cheek of the wildest and most 
redoubtable desperado, and necessitate an instant election 
between flight and certain doom. 

The administration of the lex talionis by self-consti- 
tuted authority is, undoubtedly, in civilized and settled 
communities, an outrage on mankind. It is there wholly 
unnecessary; but the sight of a few of the mangled corpses 
of beloved friends and valued citizens ; the whistle of the 
desperado's bullet, and the plunder of the fruits of the 
patient toil of years spent in weary exile from home, in 
places where civil law is as powerless as a palsied arm, 
from sheer lack of ability to enforce its decrees — alter the 
basis of the reasoning, and reverse the conclusion. In 
the case of the Vigilantes of Montana, it must be also re- 
membered that the Sheriff himself was the leader of the 
Road Agents, and his deputies were the prominent mem- 
bers of the band. 

The question of the propriety of establishing a Vigi- 
lance Committee depends upon the answers which ought 
to be given to the following queries: Is it lawful for 
citizens to slay robbers or murderers, when they catch 
them; or ought they to wait for policemen, where there 
are none, or put them in penitentiaries not yet erected ? 

Gladly, indeed, we feel sure, would the Vigilantes cease 
from their labor, and joyfully would they hail the advent 
of power, civil or military, to take their place; but till 
this is furnished by Government, society must be 
preserved from demoralization and anarchy; murder, 
arson and robbery must be prevented or punished, and 
road agents must die. Justice, and protection from 
wrong to person or property, are the birthright of 
every American citizen, and these must be furnished in 
the best and most effectual manner that circumstances 
render possible. Furnished, however, they must be by 
constitutional law, undoubtedly, wherever practical and 



l6 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

efficient provision can be made for its enforcement. But 
where justice is powerless as well as blind, the strong arm 
of the mountaineer must wield her sword; for " self-pre- 
servation is the first law of nature." 



CHAPTER II. 

THE SUNNY SIDE OF MOUNTAIN LIFE. 

11 The friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, 
Grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel/' — Shaks. 

In the preceding chapter it was necessary to show to 
the reader the dark side of the cloud; but it has a golden 
lining, and though many a cursory observer, or disap- 
pointed speculator may deny this fact, yet thousands 
have seen it, and know to their hearts' content that it is 
there. Yes! Life in the mountains has many charms. 
The one great blessing is perfect freedom. Untram- 
melled by the artificial restraints of more highly organ- 
ized society, character develops itself so fully and so 
truly, that a man who has a friend knows it, and there 
is a warmth and depth in the attachment which unites 
the dwellers in the wilderness, that is worth years of the 
insipid and uncertain regard of so-called polite circles, 
which, too often, passes by the name of friendship, 
and, sometimes, insolently apes the attributes, and dis- 
honors the fame of love itself. Those who have slept at 
the same watch-fire, and traversed together many a 
weary league, sharing hardship and privations, are 
drawn together by ties which civilization wots not of. 
Wounded or sick, far from home, and depending for life 
itself upon the ministration and tender care of some fel- 
low traveller, the memory of these deeds of mercy and 
kindly fellowship often mutually rendered, is as an 
oasis in the desert, or as a crystal stream to the fainting 
pilgrim. 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. IJ 

As soon as towns are built society commences to 
organize, and there is something truly cheering in the 
ready hospitality, the unfeigned welcome, and the 
friendly toleration of personal peculiarities which mark 
the intercourse of the dwellers in the land of gold. 
Every one does what pleases him best. Forms and 
ceremonies are at a discount, and generosity has its home 
in the pure air of the Rocky Mountains. This virtue, 
indeed, is as inseparable from mountaineers of all classes, 
as the pick and shovel from the prospector. When a 
case of real destitution is made public, if any well-known 
citizen will but take a paper in his hand and go round 
with it, the amount collected would astonish a dweller 
in Eastern cities, and it is a fact that gamblers and 
saloon keepers are the very men who subscribe the most 
liberally. Mountaineers think little of a few hundreds 
of dollars, when the feelings are engaged, and the num- 
ber of instances in which men have been helped to for- 
tunes and presented with valuable property by their 
friends, is truly astonishing. 

The Mountains also may be said to circumscribe and 
bound the paradise of amiable and energetic women. For 
their labor they are paid magnificently, and they are treat- 
ed with a deference and liberality unknown in other 
climes. Theres eems to be a law, unwritten but scarcely 
ever transgressed, w r hich assigns to a virtuous and amiable 
woman a power for good which she can never hope to at- 
tain elsewhere. In his wildest excitement, a mountaineer 
respects a woman, and anything like an insult offered to a 
lady would be instantly resented, probably with fatal 
effect, by any bystander. Dancing is the great amuse- 
ment with persons of both sexes, and we might say, of 
all ages. The comparative disproportion between the 
male and female elements of society ensures the posses- 
sor of personal charms of the most ordinary kind, if she 
be good natured, the greatest attention, and the most 
liberal provision for her wants, whether real or fancied. 

If two men are friends, an insult to one is resented by 
both, an alliance, offensive and defensive, being a neces- 
sary condition of friendship in the mountains. A popu- 



1 8 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

lar citizen is safe everywhere, and any man may be popu- 
lar that has anything useful or genial about him. 

" Putting on style," or the assumption of aristocratic 
airs, is the detestation of everybody. No one but a per- 
son lacking sense attempts it. It is neither forgotten 
nor forgiven, and kills a man like a bullet. It should 
also be remembered that no people more admire and re- 
spect upright moral conduct than do the sojourners in 
mining camps, while at the same time none more thor- 
oughly despise hypocrisy in any shape. In fact, good 
men and good women may be as moral and as religious 
as they choose to be in the mining countries, and as hap- 
py as human beings can be. Much they will miss that 
they have been used to, and much they will receive that 
none offered them before. 

Money is commonly plentiful; if prices are high, re- 
muneration for work is liberal, and, in the end, care and 
industry will achieve success and procure competence. 
We have travelled far and seen much of the world, and 
the result of our experience is a love for our mountain 
home that time and change of scene can never efface. 



CHAPTER III. 

SETTLEMENT OF MONTANA. 

" I hear the tread of pioneers, 
Of nations yet to be; 
The first low wash of waves, where soon 
Shall roll a human sea." — Whittier. 

Early in the spring of 1862 the rumor of new and rich 
discoveries on Salmon River flew through Salt Lake 
City, Colorado, and other places in the Territories. A 
great stampede was the consequence. Faith and hope 
were in the ascendent among the motley crew that wend- 
ed their toilsome way by Fort Hall and Snake River, to 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA, 19 

the new Eldorado. As the trains approached the goal of 
their desires they were informed that they could not get 
through with wagons, and shortly after came the dis- 
couraging tidings that the new mines were overrun by 
a crowd of gold-hunters from California, Oregon and 
other western countries; they were also told, that finding 
it impossible to obtain either claims or labor, large bands 
of prospectors were already spreading over the adjacent 
territory; and finally, that some new diggings had been 
discovered at Deer Lodge. 

The stream of emigration diverged from the halting- 
place where this last welcome intelligence reached them. 
Some, turning towards Deer Lodge, crossed the moun- 
tains, between Fort Lemhi and Horse Prairie Creek, and 
taking a cut-off to the left, endeavored to strike the old 
trail from Salt Lake to Bitter Root and Deer Lodge Val- 
leys. These energetic miners crossed the Grasshopper 
Creek, below the Canon, and finding good prospects 
there, some of the party remained, with a view of prac- 
tically testing their value. Others went on to Deer 
Lodge; but finding that the diggings were neither so 
rich nor so extensive as they had supposed, they returned 
to Grasshopper Creek, afterwards known as the Beaver 
Head Diggings — so named from the Beaver Head River, 
into which the creek empties. The river derives its ap- 
pellation from a rock, which exactly resembles, in its out- 
line, the head of a beaver. 

From this camp — the rendezvous of the emigration — 
started, from time to time, the bands of explorers who 
first discovered and worked the gulches east of the 
Rocky Mountains, in the world-renowned country now 
the Territory of Montana. Other emigrants, coming by 
Deer Lodge, struck the Beaver Head diggings; then the 
first party from Minnesota arrived; after them came a 
large part of the Fisk company who had travelled under 
Government escort, from the same State, and a consider- 
able number drove through from Salt Lake City and 
Bitter Root, in the early part of the winter, which was 
very open. 

Among the later arrivals were some desperadoes and 



20 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

outlaws, from the mines west of the mountains. In this 
gang were Henry Plummer, afterwards the sheriff, 
Charley Reeves, Moore and Skinner. These worthies 
had no sooner got the " lay of the country," than they 
commenced operations. Here it may be remarked, that 
if the professed servants of God would only work for 
their Master with the same energy and persistent de- 
votion as the servants of the Devil use for their em- 
ployer, there would be no need of a Heaven above, for 
the earth itself would be a Paradise. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE ROAD AGENTS. 

" Thieves for their robbery have authority 
When judges steal themselves." — Shakespeare 

It may easily be imagined that life in Bannack, in the 
early days of the settlement, was anything but pleasant. 
The ruffians whose advent we have noticed served as a 
nucleus, around which the disloyal, the desperate, and 
the dishonest gathered, and quickly organizing them- 
selves into a band, with captain, lieutenants, secretary, 
road agents, and outsiders, became the terror of the 
country. The stampede to the Alder Gulch, which oc- 
curred early in June, 1863, and the discovery of the rich 
placer diggings there, attracted many more of the dan- 
gerous classes, who, scenting the prey from afar, flew 
like vultures to the battle-field. 

Between Bannack and Virginia a correspondence was 
constantly kept up, and the roads throughout the Terri- 
tory were under the surveillance of the " outsiders" be- 
fore mentioned. To such a system were these things 
brought, that horses, men and coaches were marked in 
some understood manner, to designate them as fit objects 
for plunder, and thus the Hers in wait had an opportunity 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONT AT A. 21 

of communicating the intelligence to the members of the 
gang, in time to prevent the escape of the victims. 

The usual arms of a road agent were a pair of revolv- 
ers, a double-barrelled shot-gun, of large bore, with the 
barrels cut down short, and to this they invariably added 
a knife or dagger. Thus armed and mounted on fleet, 
well-trained horses, and being disguised with blanket^ 
and masks, the robbers awaited their prey in ambush. 
When near enough they sprang out on a keen run, with 
levelled shot-guns, and usually gave the word, "Halt! 

Throw up your hands, you sons of b s!" If this latter 

command were not instantly obeyed, there was the last 
of the offender; but, in case he complied, as was usual, 
one or two sat on their horses, covering the party with 
their guns, which were loaded with buck-shot, and one 
dismounting, disarmed the victims, and made them throw 
their purses on the grass. This being done, and a search 
for concealed property being effected, away rode the 
robbers, reported the capture and divided the spoils. 

The confession of two of their number one of whom, 
named Erastus Yager alias Red, was hung in the Stink- 
ingwater Valley, put the Committee in possession of the 
names of the prominent men in the gang, and eventually 
secured their death or voluntary banishment. The most 
noted of the road agents, with a few exceptions, were 
hanged by the Vigilance Committee, or banished. A 
list of the place and date of execution of the principal 
members of the band is here presented. The remainder 
of the red calendar of crime and retribution will appear 
after the account of the execution of Hunter: 



NAMES, PLACE AND DATE OF EXECUTION. 

George Ives, Nevada City, Dec. 21st, 1863; Erastus 
Yager (Red) and G. W. Brown, Stinkingwater Valley, 
January 4th, 1864; Henry Plummer, Ned Ray and Buck 
Stinson, Bannack City, January 10th, 1864; George Lane 
(Club-foot George), Frank Parish, Haze Lyons, Jack 
Gallagher and Boone Helm, Virginia City, January 14th, 
1864; Steven Marsland, Big Hole Ranche, January 16th, 



22 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

1864; William Bunton, Deer Lodge Valley, January 
19th, 1864; Cyrus Skinner, Alexander Carter and John 
Cooper, Hell Gate, January 25th, 1864; George Shears, 
Frenchtown, January 24th, 1864; Robert Zachary, Hell 
Gate, January 25th, 1864; William Graves alias Whiskey 
Bill, Fort Owens, January 26th, 1864; William Hunter, 
Gallatin Valley, February 3d, 1864; John Wagoner (Dutch 
John) and Joe Pizanthia, Bannack City, January nth, 
1864. 

Judge Smith and J. Thurmond, the counsel of the 
road agents, were banished. Thurmond brought an ac- 
tion, at Salt Lake, against Mr. Fox, charging him with 
aiding in procuring his banishment. After some peculiar 
developments of justice in Utah, he judiciously withdrew 
all proceedings, and gave a receipt in full of all past and 
future claims on the Vigilance Committee, in which in- 
stance he exhibited a wise discretion — 

" It's no for naething the gled whistles." 

The Bannack branch of the Vigilantes also sent out 
of the country H. G. Sessions, convicted of circulating 
bogus dust, and one H. D. Moyer, who furnished a room 
at midnight for them to work in, together with material 
for their labor. A man named Kustar was also banished 
for recklessly shooting through the windows of the hotel 
opposite his place of abode. 

The circumstances attending the execution of J. A. 
Slade, and the charges against him, will appear in full in 
a subsequent part of this work. This case stands on a 
footing distinct from all the others. 

Moore and Reeves were banished, as will afterwards 
appear, by a miners' jury, at Bannack, in the winter of 
1863, but came back in the spring. They fled the coun- 
try when the Vigilantes commenced operations, and are 
thought to be in Mexico. 

Charley Forbes was a member of the gang; but being 
wounded in a scuffle, or a robbery, a doctor was found and 
taken to where he lay. Finding that he was incurable, 
it is believed that Moore and Reeves shot him, to prevent 
his divulging what he knew of the band; but this is un- 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 2$ 

certain. Some say he was killed by Moore and Reeves, 
in Red Rock Canon. 

The headquarters of the marauders was Rattlesnake 
Ranche. Plummer often visited it, and the robbers used 
to camp, with their comrades, in little wakiups above and 
below it, watching, and ready for fight, flight or plunder. 
Two rods in front of this building was a sign post, at 
which they used to practise with their revolvers. They 
were capital shots. Plummer was the quickest hand 
with his revolver of any man in the mountains. He 
could draw the pistol and discharge the five loads in 
three seconds. The post was riddled with holes, and was 
looked upon as quite a curiosity, until it was cut down, 
in the summer of 1863. 

Another favorite resort of the gang was Dempsey's 
Cottonwood Ranche. The owner knew the character of 
the robbers, but had no connection with them; and, in 
those days a man's life would not have been worth fifteen 
minutes' purchase, if the possessor had been foolish 
enough even to hint at his knowledge of their doings. 
Daley's, at Ramshorn Gulch, and ranches or wakiups 
on the Madison and Jefferson, Wisconsin Creek, and Mill 
Creek, were also constantly occupied by members of the 
band. 

By discoveries of the bodies of the victims, the confes- 
sions of the murderers before execution, and reliable in- 
formation sent to the Committee, it was found that one 
hundred and two people had been certainly killed by 
those miscreants in various places, and it was believed, 
on the best information, that scores of unfortunates had 
been murdered and buried, whose remains were never 
discovered, nor their fate definitely ascertained. All that 
was known was that they started, with greater or less 
sums of money, for various places, and were never heard 
of again. 



24 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

CHAPTER V. 

THE DARK DAYS OF MONTANA. 

" Will all Neptune's Ocean wash this blood 
Clean from my hand ?" — Macbeth. 

Henry Plummer, a sketch of whose previous career 
will appear in a subsequent part of this narrative, came 
to Montana Territory from Orofino. He and Reeves had 
there got into a difficulty with another man, and had set- 
tled the matter in the way usual in the trade — that is to 
say, they shot him. 

Plummer — who, it seems, had for a long time contem- 
plated a visit to the States — made at once for the river, 
intending to go down by boat; but finding that he was 
too late, he came back to Gold Creek, and there met 
Jack Cleveland, an old acquaintance, and former partner 
in crime. They made arrangements to pass the winter 
together at Sun River Farm. Plummer was to attend to 
the chores about the house, and Jack Cleveland was to 
get the wood. The worthy couple, true to their instincts, 
did not long remain in harmony, but quarrelled about a 
young lady, whom Plummer afterwards married. Neither 
would leave, unless the other went also, and at last they 
both started, in company, for Bannack. 

This town originated from the " Grasshopper Dig- 
gings," which were first discovered in the month of July, 
by John White and a small party of prospectors, on the 
Grasshopper Creek, a tributary of the Beaver Head. The 
discoverer, together with Rodolph Dorsett, was mur- 
dered by Charley Kelly, in the month of December, 
1863, near the Milk Ranche, on the road from Virginia 
City to Helena. Wash Stapleton and his party came in 
a short time after, and were soon joined by others, among 
whom were W. B. Dance, S. T. Hauser, James Morley, 
Drury Underwood, F. M. Thomson, N. P. Langford, 
James Fergus, John Potter, Judge Hoyt and Dr. Hoyt, 
Chas. St. Clair, David Thompson, Buz Caven, Messrs. 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 2$ 

Burchett, Morelle, Harby, J. M. Castner, Pat Bray and 
brother, Sturges, Col. McLean, R. C. Knox, and other 
well known citizens of Montana. The name, "Bannack," 
was given to the settlement, from the Bannack Indians, 
the lords of the soil. It was the first " mining camp" of 
any importance, discovered on the eastern slope of the 
Mountains, and as the stories of its wonderful richness 
went abroad, hundreds of scattered prospectors flocked 
in, and before the following spring the inhabitants num- 
bered upwards of a thousand. 

It is probable that there never was a mining town of 
the same size that contained more desperadoes and law- 
less characters than did Bannack, during the winter of 
1862-3. While a majority of the citizens were of the 
sterling stock, which has ever furnished the true Ameri- 
can pioneers, there w T ere great numbers of the most des- 
perate class of roughs and road agents, who had been 
roving through the mountains, exiles from their former 
haunts in the mining settlements, from which they had 
fled to avoid the penalties incurred by the commission 
of many a fearful crime. These men no sooner heard of 
the rich mines of Bannack, than they at once made for 
the new settlement, where, among strangers, ignorant of 
their crimes, they would be secure from punishment, at 
least until their true character should become known. 

During their journey to Bannack, Cleveland often said, 
when a little intoxicated, that Plummer was his meat. 
On their arrival at their destination, they were, in moun- 
tain phrase, "strapped ;" that is, they were without 
money or means ; but Cleveland was not thus to be 
foiled ; the practice of his profession furnishing him with 
ample funds, at the cost of a short ride and a pistol car- 
tridge. In February, 1863, a young man named George 
Evans, having a considerable sum of money on his per- 
son, was hunting stock belonging to William Bates, 
beyond Buffalo Creek, about eight miles from Bannack, 
and this man, it is believed, was shot by Cleveland, and 
robbed, as the murderer — w r ho had no money at the 
time — was seen riding close to the place, and the next 
day he had plenty. Evans's partner, Ed. Hibbert, got a 



26 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

horse from J. M. Castner, and searched for him in vain, 
returning impressed with the belief that he had frozen 
to death. In a short time, a herder named Duke, a 
partner of Jemmy Spence, was also hunting cattle, when 
he found Evans's clothes tucked into a badger hole. A 
body, which, however, was never fully identified, was 
found naked in the willows, with a shot wound in the 
right armpit. It seems as if the victim had seen a 
man about to shoot, and had raised his arm deprecat- 
ingly. 

Shortly after this, Cleveland came in to Goodrich's 
saloon, and said he was chief; that he knew all the 

d d scoundrels from the " other side/' and would 

get even on some of them. A difficulty arose between 
him and Jeff. Perkins, about some money which the lat- 
ter owed in the lower country. Jeff, assured him that he 
had settled the debt, and thereupon Jack said, " Well, if 
it's settled, it's all right ;" but he still continued to refer 
to it, and kept reaching for his pistol. Plummer, who 
was present, told him that if he did not behave himself, 
he would take him in hand, for that Jeff, had settled the 
debt, and he ought to be satisfied. Jeff, went home for 
his derringers, and while he was absent, Jack Cleveland 
boastingly declared that he was afraid of none of them. 
Plummer jumped to his feet instantly, saying, "You 
d d son of a b h, I am tired of this," and, draw- 
ing his pistol, he commenced firing at Cleveland. The 
first ball lodged in the beam overhead, where it still re- 
mains. The second struck him below the belt, and he 
fell to his knees, grasping wildly at his pistol, and ex- 
claiming, "Plummer, you won't shoot me when I'm 

down ;" to which Plummer replied, " No, you d d 

son of ab h; get up," and, as he staggered to his feet, 

he shot him a little above the heart. The bullet, how- 
ever, glanced on the rib, and went round his body. The 
next entered below the eye, and lodged in his head. 
The last missile went between Moore and another man, 
who was sitting on the bench. As may be supposed the 
citizen discovered that business called him outside im- 
mediately; and met George Ives, with a pistol in his 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 2*] 

hand, followed by Reeves, who was similarly accoutred 
for the summary adjustment of " difficulties." 

Singular enough it must appear to the inhabitants of 
settled communities, that a man was being shaved in 
the saloon at the time, and neither he nor the operator 
left off business — custom is everything, and fire-eating is 
demonstrably an acquired habit. 

Ives and Reeves each took Plummer by the arm, and 
walked down street, asking as they went along : " Will 
the d d strangling sons of b s hang you now?" 

Hank Crawford was, at this time, boarding with L. 
W. Davenport, of Bannack, and was somewhat out of 
health. His host came into the room, and said that there 
was a man shot somewhere up town, in a saloon. Craw- 
ford immediately went to where the crowd had gathered, 
and found that such w T as the fear of the desperadoes, 
that no one dared to lift the head of the dying man. 
Hank said aloud, that it was out of the question to leave 
a man in such a condition, and asked, " Is there no one 
that will take him home ?" Some answered that they 
had no room ; to which he replied, that he had not, 
either, but he would find a place for him ; and, assisted 
by three others, he carried him to his own lodging — 
sending a messenger for the doctor. 

The unfortunate man lived about three hours. Before 
his decease he sent Crawford to Plummer for his 
blankets. Plummer asked Crawford what Jack had said 
about him ; Crawford told him, "nothing." " It is well 
for him," said Plummer, "or I would have killed the 

d d son of a b h in his bed." He repeated his 

question several times, very earnestly. Crawford then in- 
formed him that, in answer to numerous inquiries by him- 
self and others, about Cleveland's connections, he had 
said, "Poor Jack has got no friends. He has got it, and 
I guess he can stand it." Crawford had him decently 
buried, but he knew, from that time, that Plummer had 
marked him for destruction, fearing that some of Cleve- 
land's secrets might have transpired, in which case he 
was aware that he would surely be hung at the first 
opportunity. 



2% THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

No action was taken about this murder for some time. 
It required a succession of horrible outrages to stimulate 
the citizens to their first feeble parody of justice. Shoot- 
ing, duelling and outrage were, from an early date, 
daily occurrences in Bannack; and many was the foul 
deed done, of which no record has been preserved. As 
an instance of the free and easy state of society at this 
time may be mentioned a " snooting scrape" between 
George Carrhart and George Ives, during the winter of 
'62-3. The two men were talking together in the street, 
close to Carrhart's cabin. Gradually they seemed to 
grow angry, and parted, Ives exclaiming aloud, "You 

d d son of a b h, I'll shoot you," and ran into a 

grocery for his revolver. Carrhart stepped into his 
cabin, and came out first, with his pistol in his hand, 
which he held by his side, the muzzle pointing down- 
wards. George Ives came out, and turning his back on 
Carrhart, looked for him in the wrong direction — giving 
his antagonist a chance of shooting him in the back, if 
he desired to do so. Carrhart stood still till Ives turned, 
watching him closely. The instant Ives saw him he 
swore an oath, and raising his pistol, let drive, but 
missed him by an inch or so, the bullet striking the w T all 
of the house, close to which he was standing. Carrhart's 
first shot was a miss-fire, and a second shot from Ives 
struck the ground. Carrhart's second shot flashed right 
in Ives's face, but did no damage, though the ball could 
hardly have missed more than a hair's breadth. Carrhart 
jumped into the house, and reaching his hand out, fired 
at his opponent. In the same fashion, his antagonist 
returned the compliment. This was continued till Ives's 
revolver was emptied — Carrhart having one shot left. 
As Ives walked off to make his escape, Carrhart shot 
him in the back, near the side. The ball went through, 
and striking the ground in front of him, knocked up the 
dust ahead of him. Ives was not to be killed by a shot, 
and wanted to get another revolver, but Carrhart ran off 
down the street. Ives cursed him for a coward " shoot- 
ing a man in the back." They soon made up their quar- 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 29 

rels, and Ives went and lived with Carrhart, on his ranche, 
for the rest of the winter. 

Accidents will happen in the best regulated families, 
and we give a specimen of "casualties" pertaining to life 
in Bannack during this delightful period. Dr. Biddle, 
of Minnesota, and his wife, together with Mr. and Mrs. 
Short, and their hired man, were quietly sitting round 
their camp fire on Grasshopper Creek, when J. M. Cast- 
ner, thinking that a lady in the peculiar situation of Mrs. 
Biddle would need the shelter of a house, went over to 
the camp, and sitting down, made his offer of assistance, 
which was politely acknowledged, but declined by the 
lady, on the ground that their wagon was very com- 
fortably fitted up. Scarcely were the words uttered, 
when crack! went a revolver, from the door of a saloon, 
and the ball went so close to Castner's ear, that it stung 
for two or three days. It is stated that he shifted the 
position of his head with amazing rapidity. Mrs. Biddle 
nearly fainted and became much excited, trembling with 
terror. Castner went over to the house, and saw Cyrus 
Skinner in the act of laying his revolver on the table, at 
the same time requesting a gentleman who was playing 
cards to count the balls in it. He at first refused, saying 
he was busy; but, being pressed, said, after making a 
hasty inspection, "Well, there are only four." Skinner 

replied, " I nearly frightened the out of a fellow, 

over there." Castner laid his hand on his shoulder, and 
said, "My friend, you nearly shot Mrs. Biddle." Skinner 
declared that he would not have killed a woman " for 
the world," and swore that he thought it was a camp of 
Indians, which would, in his view, have made the matter 
only an agreeable pastime. He asked Castner to drink, 
but the generous offer was declined. Probably the ball 
stuck in his throat. The Doctor accepted the invitation. 
These courtesies were like an invitation from a Captain 
to a Midshipman, " No compulsion, only you must." 

A little episode may here be introduced, as an illus- 
tration of an easy method of settling debts mentioned 
by Shakespeare. The sentiment is the Earl of War- 



30 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA, 

wick's. The practical enforcement of the doctrine is to 
be credited, in this instance, to Haze Lyons, of the Rocky 
Mountains, a self-constituted and energetic Receiver- 
General of all moneys and valuables not too hot or too 
heavy for transportation by man or horse, at short 
notice. The "King Maker" says: 

" When the debt grows burdensome, and cannot be discharged 
A sponge will wipe out all, and cost you nothing." 

The substitute for the " sponge" above alluded to, is 
usually, in cases like the following, a revolver, which acts 
effectually, by " rubbing out" either the debt or the 
creditor, as circumstances may render desirable. Haze 
Lyons owed a board bill to a citizen of Bannack, who 
was informed that he had won $300 or §400 by gambling 
the night before, and accordingly asked him for it. He 

replied, " You son of a b h, if you ask me for that 

again, I'll make it unhealthy for you." The creditor 
generously refrained from further unpleasant inquiries, 
and the parties met again for the first time, face to face, 
at the gallows, on which Haze expiated his many crimes. 
The next anecdote is suggestive of one, among many 
ways of incidentally expressing dislike of a man's " style" 
in business matters. Buck Stinson had gone security 
for a friend, who levanted; but was pursued and brought 
back. A mischievous boy had been playing some ridic- 
ulous pranks, when his guardian, to whom the debt 
mentioned was due, spoke to him severely, and ordered 
him home. Buck at once interfered, telling the guardian 
that he should not correct the boy. On receiving for 
answer that it certainly would be done, as it was the 
duty of the boy's protector to look after him, he drew 
his revolver, and thrusting it close to the citizen's face, 

saying " G d d n you, I don't like you very well, 

anyhow," was about to fire, when the latter seized the 
barrel and threw it up. A struggle ensued, and finding 
that he couldn't fire, Stinson wrenched the weapon out 
of his opponent's hand, and struck him heavily across 
the muscles of the neck, but failed to knock him down. 
The bar-keeper interfering, Stinson let go his hold, and 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 3 1 

swore he would shoot him; but he was quieted down. 
The gentleman being warned, made his way home at the 
double-quick, or faster, and put on his revolver and 
bowie, which he wore for fifteen days. At the end of 
this time, Plummer persuaded Stinson to apologize, 
which he did, and thereafter behaved with civility to 
that particular man. 

The wild lawlessness and the reckless disregard for life 
which distinguished the outlaws, who had by this time 
concentrated at Bannack, will appear from the account 
of the first " Indian trouble." If the facts here stated do 
not justify the formation of a Vigilance Committee in 
Montana, then may God help Uncle Sam's nephews when 
they venture west of the river, in search of new dig- 
gings. In March, 1863, Charley Reeves, a prominent 
" clerk of St. Nicholas," bought a Sheep-eater squaw; 
but she refused to live with him, alleging that she was 
ill-treated, and went back to her tribe, who were en- 
camped on the rise of the hill, south of Yankee Flat, 
about fifty yards to the rear of the street. Reeves went 
after her, and sought to force 'her to come back with him, 
but on his attempting to use violence, an old chief inter- 
fered. The two grappled. Reeves, with a sudden effort, 
broke from him, striking him a blow with his pistol, and, 
in the scuffle, one barrel was harmlessly discharged. 

The next evening, Moore and Reeves, in a state of in- 
toxication, entered Goodrich's saloon, laying down two 
double-barrelled shot-guns and four revolvers ca the 
counter, considerably to the discomfiture of the bar- 
keeper, who, we believe, would have sold his position 
very cheap, for cash, at that precise moment, and it is 
just possible that he might have accepted a good offer 
"on time." They declared, while drinking, that if the 

d d cowardly white folks on Yankee Flat were afraid 

of the Indians, they were not, and that they would soon 
"set the ball a rolling." Taking their weapons, they 
went off to the back of the houses, opposite the camp, 
and levelling their pieces, they fired into the tepee, 
wounding one Indian. They returned to the saloon and 
got three drinks more, boasting of what they had done, 



32 THE VIGILANTES OE MONTANA. 

and accompanied by William Mitchell, of Minnesota, and 
two others, they went back, determined to complete 
their murderous work. The three above named then 
deliberately poured a volley into the tepee, with fatal 
effect. Mitchell, whose gun w T as loaded with an ounce 
ball and a charge of buckshot, killed a Frenchman named 
Brissette, who had run up to ascertain the cause of the 
first firing — the ball striking him in the forehead, and the 
buckshot wounding him in ten different places. The 
Indian chief, a lame Indian boy, and a pappoose, were 
also killed; but the number of the parties who were 
wounded has never been ascertained. John Burnes 
escaped with a broken thumb, and a man named Woods 
was shot in the groin, of which wound he has not yet 
entirely recovered. This unfortunate pair, like Bris- 
sette, had come to see the cause of the shooting, and of 
the yells of the savages. The murderers being told that 
they had killed white men, Moore replied, with great 

sang froid, "The d d sons of b s had no business 

there." 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE TRIAL. 

Desponding fear, of feeble fancies full, 

Weak and unmanly, loosens every power. — Thomson. 

The indignation of the citizens being aroused by this 
atrocious and unprovoked massacre, a mass meeting was 
held the following morning to take some action in the 
premises. Charley Moore and Reeves hearing of it, 
started early in the morning, on foot, towards Rattle- 
snake, Henry Plummer preceding them on horseback. 
Sentries were then posted all round the town, to prevent 
egress, volunteers were called for, to pursue the crimi- 
nals, and Messrs. Lear, Higgings, O. J. Rockwell and 
Davenport at once followed on their track, coming up 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 33 

with them where they had hidden, in a thicket of brush, 
near the creek. The daylight was beginning to fade, and 
the cold was intense when a reinforcement arrived, on 
which the fugitives came out, delivered themselves up, 
and were conducted back to Bannack. 

Plummer was tried and honorably acquitted, on ac- 
count of Cleveland's threats. Mitchell was banished, but 
he hid around the town for awhile, and never went away. 
Reeves and Moore were next tried. Mr. Rheem had 
promised the evening before to conduct the prosecution, 
and Judge Smith had undertaken the defence, when on 
the morning of the trial, Mr. Rheem announced that he 
was retained for the defence. This left the people with- 
out any lawyer or prosecutor. Mr. Coply at last under- 
took the case, but his talents not lying in that direction, 
he was not successful as an advocate. Judge Hoyt, from 
St. Paul, was elected Judge, and Hank Crawford, Sheriff. 
Owing to the peculiarly divided state of public opinion, 
it seemed almost impossible to select an impartial jury 
from the neighborhood, and therefore a messenger was 
sent to Godfrey's Canon, where N. P. Langford, R. C. 
Knox, A. Godfrey, and others, were engaged in erecting 
a saw-mill, requesting them to come down to Bannack 
and sit on the jury. Messrs. Langford and Godfrey came 
down at once, to be ready for the trial the next day. 
The assembly of citizens numbered about five or six 
hundred, and to them the question was put, "Whether 
the prisoners should be tried by the people en masse, or by 
a selected jury." Some leading men advocated the first 
plan. N. P. Langford and several prominent residents 
took the other side, and argued the necessity for a jury. 
After several hours' discussion, a jury was ordered, and 
the trial proceeded. At the conclusion of the evidence 
and argument, the case was given to the jury without 
any charge. The Judge also informed them that if they 
found the prisoners guilty, they must sentence them. 
At the first ballot, the vote stood: For death, i; against 
it, ii. The question of the prisoners' guilt admitted of 
no denial. N. P. Langford alone voted for the penalty 
of death. A sealed verdict of banishment and confisca- 



34 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

tion of property was ultimately handed to the Judge, late 
in the evening. Moore and Reeves were banished from 
the Territory, but were permitted to stay at Deer Lodge 
till the Range would be passable. 

In the morning the Court again met, and the Judge 
informed the people that he had received the verdict, 
which he would now hand back to the foreman to read. 
Mr. Langford accordingly read it aloud. 

From that time forward a feeling of the bitterest hos- 
tility was manifested by the friends of Moore, Reeves 
and Mitchell towards all who were prominently connected 
with the proceedings. 

During the trial, the roughs would swagger into the 
space allotted for the Judge and jury, giving utterance 
to clearly understood threats, such as, " I'd like to see 

the G d d d jury that would dare to hang Charley 

Reeves or Bill Moore," etc., etc., which doubtless had 
fully as much weight with the jury as the evidence had. 
The pretext of the prisoners that the Indians had killed 
some whites, friends of theirs, in '49, while going to Cal- 
ifornia, was accepted by the majority of the jurors as 
some sort of justification; but the truth is, they were 
afraid of their lives — and, it must be confessed, not with- 
out apparent reason. 

To the delivery of this unfortunate verdict may be at- 
tributed the ascendency of the roughs. They thought 
the people were afraid of them. Had the question been 
left to old Californians or experienced miners, Plummer, 
Reeves and Moore would have been hanged, and much 
bloodshed and suffering would have been thereby pre- 
vented. No organization of the Road Agents would 
have been possible. 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 35 

CHAPTER VII. 

PLUMMER VERSUS CRAWFORD. 

" I had rather chop this hand off at a blow, 
And with the other fling it at thy face, 
Than bear so low a sail, to strike to thee." 

—Shakespeare — Henry VI. 

Crawford, who was appointed Sheriff at the trial of 
Moore and Reeves, tendered his resignation on two or 
three different occasions; but was induced to continue in 
office by the strongest representations of his friends. 
They promised to stand by him in the execution of his 
duty, and to remunerate him for his loss of time and 
money. The arms taken from Plummer, Reeves and 
Mitchell were sold by Crawford to defray expenses. 

Popular sentiment is shifting and uncertain as a quick- 
sand. Shortly after this " Old Tex," one of the gang, 
collected a miners' meeting, and at it it was resolved to 
give the thieves their arms, Plummer and Tex claiming 
them as their property. The Sheriff had to go and get 
them, paying, at the same time, all expenses, including 
in the list even the board of the prisoners. For his ser- 
vices not a cent was ever paid to him. Popular institu- 
tions are of divine origin. Government by the people 
en masse is the acme of absurdity. 

Cleveland had three horses at the time of his death. 
One was at a ranch at Bannack, and two were down on 
Big Hole. Crawford called two meetings, and was au- 
thorized to seize Cleveland's property and sell it, in order 
to reimburse himself for his outlay, which was both con- 
siderable in amount and various in detail, and repay him- 
self for his outlay and expenses of various kinds. He 
went to Old Tex who said that Jack Cleveland had a 
partner, named Terwilliger (another of the gang) who 
was absent, and that he had better leave them till he 
came back. One day Crawford wanted to go to Beaver 
Head, and wished to take one of the horses to ride. Tex 



$6 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 



said it would be wrong to do so. In a day or two after, 
Crawford saw the horse in town, and asked Tex if it 
was not the animal. He said, " No, it was not; " but 
Crawford, doubting his statement, inquired of a man 
that he knew was perfectly well informed on the subject, 
and found that it was as he supposed, and that the ranch- 
man had brought it in for Tex to ride during the journey 
he contemplated, with the intention of meeting Terwil- 
liger. Crawford ordered the horse back, and desired that 
it should not be given to any one. The man took it as 
directed. When the men were banished, Plummer went 
to the ranch, took the horse and rode it, when escorting 
the culprits out of town. He then brought it back. 
Crawford, who had charge of the horse, asked Hunter 
if Tex had taken it. He said "No." 

The next evening, Crawford and some acquaintances 
went down to the bakery to take a drink, and there met 
Plummer, who accused him of ordering the horse to be 
kept from him, which he denied, and said he never men- 
tioned his name. Hunter being called by Plummer con- 
firmed the statement. He also observed, that he thought 
that, as Plummer had killed the man, he need not wish 
to take his money and his goods also. Plummer then 
remarked that Bill Hunter did not stand to what he had 
said, and left the house. He had dared Crawford to re- 
main and face Hunter's testimony, expecting to raise a 
row and shoot him. Crawford accepted the challenge, 
and, surrounded by his friends, with their hands on their 
six-shooters, awaited his coming. If he had moved his 
hand to his pistol, he would have died on the spot, and 
knowing this, he cooled off. 

The next day he sent word to Crawford, by an old 
mountaineer, that he had been wrongly informed, and 
that he wished to meet him as a friend. He replied that 
he had been abused without cause, and that, if he wanted 
to see him, he must come himself, as he was not going 
to accept of such apologies by deputy. Plummer sent 
word two or three times, to Hank, in the same way, and 
received the same reply; till at last some of the boys 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 37 

brought them together, and they shook hands, Plummer 
declaring that he desired his friendship ever after. 

In a few days, Hank happened to be in a saloon, talk- 
ing to a man who had been fighting, when a suspicious 
looking individual came up to him, and asked what he 
was talking about. He replied that it was none of his 
business. The man retorted with a challenge to fight 
with pistols. Hank said, " You have no odds of me with 
a pistol." The fellow offered to fight with fists. Hank 
agreed, and seeing that the man had no belt on, took off 
his own, and laid his pistol in, on the bar. The man 
stepped back into a dark corner, and Crawford going up, 
slapped him across the face. He instantly levelled a six- 
shooter at Crawford, which he had concealed; but Hank 
was too quick, and catching him by the throat and hand, 
disarmed him. Plummer joined the man, and together 
they wrested the pistol from his hand, and made a rush 
at him. Hank and Harry Flegger, however, kept the 
pistol in spite of them. Harry fetched his friend out, 
saying, " Come on, Hank; this is no place for you; they 
are set on murdering you, any way." He then escorted 
him home. The owner of the saloon told Crawford, 
afterwards, that it was all a plot. That the scheme was 
to entice him out to fight with pistols, and that the gang 
of Plummer's friends were ready with double-barrelled 
shot-guns, to kill him, as soon as he appeared. 

Everything went on quietly for a few days, when Hank 
found he should have to start for Deer Lodge, after cat- 
tle. Plummer told him that he was going to Benton 
Hank asked him to wait a day or two, and he would gc 
with him; but Plummer started on Monday morning, 
with George Carrhart, before Hank's horses came in. 
When the animals were brought in Hank found that 
private business would detain him, and accordingly sent 
his butcher in place. The next day Plummer, finding 
that he was not going, stopped at Big Hole, and came 
back. Hank afterwards learned that Plummer went out 
to catch him on the road, three different times, but, for- 
tunately, missed him. 

During the week Bill Hunter came to Hank, and pre- 



38 THE VIGILANTES OE MONTANA, 

tended that he had said something against him. To this 
Hank replied, that he knew what he was after, and added, 
" If you want anything, you can get it right straight 
along." Not being able "to get the drop on him" (in 
mountain phrase), and finding that he could not intimi- 
date him, he turned and went off, never afterwards speak- 
ing to Hank. 

On the following Sunday, Plummer came into a saloon 
where Hank was conversing with George Purkins, and 
addressing the latter, said, "George, there's a little mat- 
ter between you and Hank that's got to be settled." 
Hank said, "Well, I don't know what it can be," and 

laughed. Plummer observed, "You needn't laugh, G d 

d n you. It's got to be settled." Turning to Purkins, 

he stated that he and Crawford had said he was after a 
squaw, and had tried to court "Catharine." He com- 
menced to abuse Purkins, and telling him to "come out," 

and that he was " a cowardly son of a b h." He also 

declared that he could "lick" both him and Hank Craw- 
ford. George said that he was a cow r ard, and no fight- 
ing man, and that he w r ould not go out of doors with 
anybody. Plummer gave the same challenge to Hank, 
and received for a reply, that he was not afraid to go out 
with an}r man, and that he did not believe one man was 
made to scare another. Plummer said "come on," and 
started ahead of Hank towards the street. Hank walked 
quite close up to him, on his guard all the time, and 
Plummer at once said, " Now pull your pistol." Hank 
refused, saying, "I'll pull no pistol; I never pulled a 
pistol on a man, and you'll not be the first." He then 
offered to fight him in any other way. "I'm no pistol 
shot," he added, "and you would not do it if you hadn't 
the advantage." Plummer said, "If you don't pull your 
pistol, I'll shoot you like a sheep." Hank quietly laid 
his hand on his shoulder, and ? fixing his eyes on him, 
said slowly and firmly, "If that's what you want, the 
quicker you do it, the better for you," and turning round 
walked off. Plummer dared not shoot without first rais- 
ing a fuss, knowing that he would be hung. During the 
altercation above narrated, Hank had kept close to Plum- 



THE VIGJLANTES OF MONTANA, 39 

mer ready for a struggle, in case he offered to draw his 
pistol, well knowing that his man was the best and quick- 
est shot in the mountains; and that if he had accepted 
his challenge, long before he could have handled his own 
revolver, three or four balls would have passed through 
his body. The two men understood one another, at 
parting. They looked into each other's eyes. They 
were mountaineers, and each man read, in his oppo- 
nent's face, " Kill me, or I'll kill you." Plummer be- 
lieved that Hank had his secret, and one or the other 
must therefore die. 

Hank went at once to his boarding house, and taking 
his double-barrelled shot-gun prepared to go out, intend- 
ing to find and kill Plummer at sight. He was perfectly 
aware that all attempts at pacification would be under- 
stood as indications of cowardice, and would render his 
death a mere question of the goodness of Plummer's 
ammunition. Friends, however, interfered, and Hank 
could not get away till after they left, late in the even- 
ing. 

By the way, is it not rather remarkable, that if a man 
has a few friends around him, and he happens to become 
involved in a fight, the aforesaid sympathizers, instead 
of restraining his antagonist, generally hold Aim, and 
wrestle all the strength out of him, frequently enabling 
his opponent to strike him while in the grasp of his of- 
ficious backers? A change of the usual programme 
would be attended with beneficial results, in nine cases 
out of ten. Another suggestion we have to make, with 
a view to preventing actual hostilities, and that is, that 
when a man raves and tears, shouting, "let go," " let me 
at him," "hold my shirt while I pull off my coat," or 
makes other bellicose requests, an instant compliance 
with his demands will at once prevent a fight. If two 
men, also, are abusing one another, in loud and foul lan- 
guage, the way to prevent blows is to seize hold of them 
and commencing to strip them for a fight, form a ring. 
This is commonly a settler. No amount of coin could 
coax a battle out of them. Such is our experience of 
all the loud-mouthed brigade. Men that mean " fight" 



40 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

may hiss a few muttered anathemas, through clenched 
teeth; but they seldom talk much, and never bandy 
slang. 

Hank started and hunted industriously for Plummer, 
who was himself similarly employed, but they did not 
happen to meet. 

The next morning, Hank's friends endeavored to pre- 
vail upon him to stay within doors until noon; but it was 
of no avail. He knew what was before him, and that it 
must be settled, one way or the other. Report came to 
him that Plummer was about to leave town, which at 
once put him on his guard. The attempt to ensnare him 
into a fatal carelessness was too evident. 

Taking his gun he went up town, to the house of a 
friend — Buz Caven. He borrowed Buz's rifle, without 
remark, and stood prepared for emergencies. After 
waiting some time, he went down to the butcher's shop 
which he kept, and saw Plummer frequently; but he 
always had somebody close beside him, so that, without 
endangering another man's life, Hank could not fire. 

He finally went out of sight, and sent a man to com- 
promise, saying they would agree to meet as strangers. 
He would never speak to Crawford, and Crawford should 
never address him. Hank was too wary to fall into the 
trap. He sent word back to Plummer that he had broken 
his word once, and that his pledge of honor was no more 
than the wind to him; that one or the other had to suffer 
or leave. 

A friend came to tell Hank that they were making ar- 
rangements to shoot him in his own door, out of a house 
on the other side of the street. Hank kept out of the 
door, and about noon, a lady, keeping a restaurant, 
called to him to come and get a dish of coffee. He 
went over without a gun. While he was drinking the 
coffee, Plummer, armed with a double-barrelled gun, 
walked opposite to his shop door, watching for a shot. 
A friend, Frank Ray, brought Hank a rifle. He in- 
stantly levelled at Plummer, and fired. The ball broke 
his arm. His friends gathered round him, and he said, 
" some son of a b h has shot me." He was then 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 4 1 

carried off. He sent Hank a challenge to meet him in 
fifteen days; but he paid no attention to a broken armed 
man's challenge, fifteen days ahead. In two days after, 
while Hank was in Meninghall's store, George Carrhart 
came in. Hank saw there was mischief in his look, and 
went up to him at once saying, "Now, George, I know 
what you want. You had better go slow." Stickney 
got close to him on the other side, and repeated the cau- 
tion. After a while he avowed that he came to kill him; 
but, on hearing his story, he pulled open his coat, show- 
ing his pistol ready in the band of his pants, and declared 
at the same time that he would be his friend. Another 
party organized to come down and shoot Crawford, but 
failed to carry out their intention. Some of the citizens, 
hearing of this, offered to shoot or hang Plummer, if 
Crawford would go with them; but he refused, and said 
he would take care of himself. On the 13th of March, 
he started for Wisconsin, riding on horseback to Fort 
Benton. He was followed by three men, but they never 
came up with him, and taking boat at the river he ar- 
rived safely at home. It was his intention to come out 
in the Fall, and his brothers sent him money for that 
purpose; but the coach was robbed, and all the letters 
taken. The money, unfortunately, shared the fate of the 
mail. Crawford was lately living at Virginia City — hav- 
ing returned shortly after his marriage in the States. 

The account of the troubles of one man, which we have 
given above, has been inserted with the object of show- 
ing the state of society which could permit such openly 
planned and persistent outrages, and which necessitated 
such a method of defence. Crawford, or any of the others, 
might as well have applied to the Emperor of China, for 
redress or protection, as to any civil official. 

The ball which struck Plummer in the arm ran down 
his bone, and lodged in the wrist. After his execution, 
it was found brightened by the constant friction of the 
joint. His pistol hand being injured for belligerent 
purposes, though the limb was saved by the skill of the 
attendant physician — Plummer practised assiduously at 
drawing and shooting with his left; attaining considerable 



42 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

efficiency; but he never equalled the deadly activity and 
precision he had acquired with the other hand, which he 
still preferred to use. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

A CALENDAR OF CRIMES. 

The murderer's curse, the dead man's fixed, still glare, 
And fears and death's cold sweat, they all are there. 

Others connected with the mock trial which we have 
described fared badly, being waylaid and cruelly beaten. 
Mr. Ellis, the principal witness, was dogged every time 
he went to or returned from his claim, and finally was 
compelled to return to the States. He was followed to 
Fort Benton, a distance of three hundred miles, escaping 
death at the hands of his pursuers by slipping away 
secretly down the river, and hiding till the steamer came 
past when, springing joyfully from his place of conceal- 
ment, and hailing her, he was taken on board. 

N. P. Langford was an especial object of hatred to 
them. They had counted on his favoring them, at the 
trial, because he voted for a jury; but when they found 
that his ballot was cast for the death penalty, they vowed 
vengeance against him, and a gentleman, his particular 
friend. The latter could never go to his claim without 
a loaded gun and a revolver. Once the roughs had the 
plot all completed for the assassination of Mr. Langford; 
but accident revealed their preparations and intentions," 
and, through the timely warning of a friend, the con- 
spiracy failed. The combination of the comrades of the 
two gentlemen, which embraced the order-loving of the 
community, was too strong to be openly defied by the 
roughs. The danger of sudden surprise and assassina- 
tion was, however, continued. 

One day, as Langford's friends were sauntering down 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 43 

Main street, he saw Plummer approaching. He immedi- 
ately drew a small bowie knife from his belt, and began 
to whittle a billet of wood, which he picked up for the 
purpose. Soon he came face to face with Plummer, 
who, looking with suspicious intelligence at the w r eapon, 
asked, " Why do you begin to whittle when you meet 
me?" The citizen regarding him with a stern and de- 
termined look, promptly answered, " Mr. Plummer, you 
know what opinion I hold concerning you and your 
friends, and I don't never intend to let you get the ad- 
vantage of me. I don't want to be shot down like a 
dog" 

Finding that Mitchell had not gone aw^ay from town, 
a great many citizens thought it would be the height of 
injustice to keep Moore and Reeves away at Hell Gate, 
where the snow prevented the passage of the mountains, 
and, on Sunday, a miners' meeting was called, at which 
their sentence was remitted, by vote, and they accord- 
ingly came back. 

An attempt had also been made before this to rob the 
store of Messrs. Higgins & Worden, of Deer Lodge; but 
the proprietors got word in time to hide the safe. 

The Walla Walla Express was robbed by the band of 
road agents. Plummer directed this affair, and it is 
thought Long John had some share in it. The men 
actually engaged in it are not known. 

A Mr. Davenport and his wife were going to Benton, 
from Bannack, intending to proceed by steamboat to the 
States. While taking a lunch at Rattlesnake, a man 
masked in black suddenly came out of the willows, near 
which they were camped, and demanded their money. 
Davenport said he had none; the fellow laughed, and 
replied that his wife had, and named the amount. A 
slight application of a Colt's corkscrew, which was 
pointed at Davenport's head, brought forth his money, 
and he was ordered, on pain of death, not to go back to 
Bannack at once, but to leave his wife somewhere ahead. 
This Davenport promised, and performed, after which 
he returned, and obtained some money from the citizens 
to assist him in his necessity. His wife proceeded to the 



44 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

States, where she arrived in safety. Davenport never 
knew who robbed him. 

The house of a Frenchman, named Le Grau, who kept 
a bakery and blacksmith shop at the back of Main street, 
Bannack, was broken into, and everything that could be 
found was stolen, after which the robbers threw the cur- 
tains into a heap and tried to burn down the house, but 
they failed in this. The greater part of the owner's 
money was, fortunately, hidden, and that they missed. 

We have before spoken of Geo. Carrhart. He was a 
remarkably handsome man, w T ell educated, and it has 
been asserted that he was a member of one of the 
Western Legislatures. His manners were those of a 
gentleman, when he was sober; but an unfortunate love 
of whiskey had destroyed him. On one or two occasions, 
when inebriated, he had ridden up and down the street, 
with a shot-gun in his hand, threatening everybody. 
He was extremely generous to a friend, and would make 
him a present of a horse, an interest in a ranch, or indeed, 
of anything that he thought he needed. His fondness 
for intoxicating liquors threw him into bad company, 
and caused his death. 

One day, while sleeping in Skinner's saloon, a young 
man of acknowledged courage, named Dick Sap, was 
playing " poker" with George Banefield, a gambler, 
whose love of money w r as considerably in excess of his 
veneration for the eighth commandment. For the pur- 
pose of making a " flush," this worthy stole a card. Sap 
at once accused him of cheating, on which he jumped 
up, drew his revolver, and levelled at Sap, who was un- 
armed. A friend supplied the necessary weapon, and 
quick as thought Sap and Banefield exchanged all their 
shots, though, strange to say, without effect, so far as 
they were personally concerned. 

The quarrel was arranged after some little time, and 
then it was found that Buz Caven's dog, " Toodles," 
which was under the table, had been struck by three 
balls, and lay there dead. A groan from Carrhart at- 
tracted attention, and his friends looking at him, discov- 
ered that he had been shot through the bowels, acci- 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 45 

dentally, by Banefield. Instantly Moore called to Reeves 
and Forbes, who were present, " Boys, they have shot 
Carrhart; let's kill them," and raising his pistol, he let 
fly twice at Sap's head. Sap threw up his hands, having 
no weapon, and the balls came so close that they cut one 
little finger badly, and just grazed the other hand. The 
road agents fired promiscuously into the retreating 
crowd, one ball wounding a young man, Goliath Reilly, 
passing through his heel. Banefield was shot below the 
knee, and felt his leg numbed and useless. He, how- 
ever, dragged himself away to a place of security, and 
was attended by a skilful physician; but, refusing to 
submit to amputation, he died of mortification. 

In proof of the insecurity of life and property in places 
where such desperadoes as Plummer, Stinson, Ray and 
Skinner make their headquarters, the following incident 
may be cited: 

Late in the spring of '6$ s Winnemuck, a warrior chief 
of the Bannacks, had come in with his band, and had 
camped in the brush, about three fourths of a mile above 
the town. Skinner and the roughs called a meeting, and 
organized a band for the purpose of attacking and mur- 
dering the whole tribe. The leaders, however, got so 
drunk that the citizens became ashamed, and dropped 
off by degrees, till they were so few that the enterprise 
was abandoned. A half-breed had, in the mean time, 
warned Winnemuck, and the wily old warrior lost no 
time in preparing for the reception of the party. He 
sent his squaws and pappooses to the rear, and posted 
his warriors, to the number of three or four hundred, on 
the right side of a canyon, in such a position that he 
could have slaughtered the whole command at his ease. 
This he fully intended to do, if attacked, and also to 
have sacked the town and killed every white in it. This 
would have been an achievement requiring no extraor- 
dinary effort, and had not the drunkenness of the out- 
laws defeated their murderous purpose, would undoubt- 
edly have been accomplished. In fact, the men whom 
the Vigilantes afterward executed were ripe for any 
villainy, being godless, fearless, worthless, and a terror 
to the community. 



46 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA, 

In June of the same year, the report came in that Joe 
Carrigan, William Mitchell, Joe Brown, Smith, Indian 
Dick, and four others had been killed by the Indians, 
whom they had pursued to recover stolen stock, and that 
overtaking them, they had dismounted and fired into 
their tepees. The Indians attacked them when their 
pieces were emptied, killed the whole nine, an.d took their 
stock. 

Old Snag, a friendly chief, came into Bannack w T ith his 
band, immediately after this report. One of the tribe — a 
brother-in-law of Johnny Grant, of Deer Lodge — was 
fired at by Haze Lyons, to empty his revolver, for luck, 
on general principles, or for his pony — it is uncertain 
which. A number of citizens, thinking it was an Indian 
fight, ran out, and joined in the shooting. The savage 
jumped from his horse, and, throwing down his blanket, 
ran for his life, shouting " Good Indian." A shot wounded 
him in the hip. (His horse's leg was broken.) But, 
though badly hurt, he climbed up. the mountain and got 
away, still shouting as he ran, " Good Indian," meaning 
that he was friendly to the whites. Carroll, a citizen of 
Bannack, had a little Indian girl living with him, and 
Snag had called in to see her. Carroll witnessed the 
shooting we have described, and running in, he informed 
Snag, bidding him and his son ride off for their lives. 
The son ran out and jumped on his horse. Old Snag 
stood in front of the door, on the edge of the ditch, lean- 
ing upon his gun, which was in a sole leather case. He 
had his lariet in his hand, and was talking to his daughter, 
Jemmy Spence's squaw, named Catherine. Buck Stinson, 
without saying a word, walking to within four feet of 
him, and drawing his revolver, shot him in the side. The 
Indian raised his right hand and said, " Oh ! don't." The 
answer was a ball in the neck, accompanied by the re- 
mark, enveloped in oaths, " I'll teach you to kill whites," 
and then again he shot him through the head. He was 
dead when the first citizen attracted by the firing ran 
up. Carroll, who was standing at the door, called out, 
" Oh, don't shoot into the house; you'll kill my folks." 
Stinson turned quickly upon him and roared out, with a 



THE VIGILAXTES OF MO XT AX A. 47 

volley of curses, topped off with the customary expletive 
form of address adopted by the roughs, ki Put in your 
head, or I'll shoot the top of it off." Cyrus Skinner came 
up and scalped the Indian. The band scattered in flight. 
One who was behind, being wounded, plunged into the 
creek, seeking to escape, but was killed as he crawled up 
the bank, and fell among the willows. He was also 
scalped. The remainder of them got away, and the 
chief's son, checking his horse at a distance, waved to 
the men who had killed his father to come on for a fight, 
but the bullets beginning to cut the ground about him, 
he turned his horse and fled. 

While the firing was going on, two ladies were prepar- 
ing for a grand ball supper in a house adjoining the 
scene of the murder of Snag. The husband of one of 
them being absent, cutting house logs among the timber, 
his wife, alarmed for his safety, ran out with her arms 
and fingers extended with soft paste. She jumped the 
ditch at a bound, her hair streaming in the wind, and 

shouted aloud, "Where's Mr. ? Will nobody fetch 

me my husband ?" We are happy to relate that the 
object of her tender solicitude turned up uninjured, and 
if he was not grateful for this display of affection, we 
submit to the ladies, without any fear of contradiction, 
that he must be a monster. 

The scalp of old Snag, the butchered chief, now hangs 
in a banking house, in Salt Lake City. 

We have recorded a few, among many, of the crimes 
and outrages that were daily committed in Bannack. 
The account is purposely literal and exact. It is not 
pleasant to write of blasphemous and indecent language, 
or to record foul and horrible crimes; but, as the anato- 
mist must not shrink from the corpse, which taints the air 
as he investigates the symptoms and examines the results 
of disease, so, the historian must either tell the truth for 
the instruction of mankind, or sink to the level of a mer- 
cenary pander, who writes, not to inform the people, but 
to enrich himself. 



48 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 



CHAPTER IX. 

PERILS OF THE ROAD. 

" I'll read you matter deep and dangerous, 
As full of peril and adventurous spirit, 
As to o'erwalk a current, roaring loud, 
On the unsteadfast footing of a spear." — Shak. 

On the 14th day of November, 1863, Sam. T. Hauser, 
and N. P. Langford started for the States, in company 
with seven or eight freighters. Owing to some delay in 
their preparations, they were not ready to start at the 
hour proposed (twelve o'clock M.), and after considerable 
urging, they prevailed upon one of the freighters to 
delay his departure till five o'clock p.m., representing to 
him that by driving during part of the night, they would 
be enabled to overtake the rest of the train at Horse 
Prairie, where they were to camp for the night. These 
arrangements were all made at the store of George 
Chrisman, where Plummer had his office, and conse- 
quently their plans for departure were all known to this 
arch-villain. 

During that afternoon it was reported in Bannack 
that a silver lode had been discovered, and Plummer, 
whose residence in Nevada had given him some reputa- 
tion as a judge of silver ores, was requested to go out 
and examine it. Plummer had, on several occasions, 
been sent for to go out and make minute examinations, 
and it had never been surmised that his errands on these 
occasions were different from what they purported to be. 
This notice to Plummer that a " silver lode" had been 
discovered, was the signal that the occasion demanded 
the presence of the chief of the gang, who was needed to 
head some marauding expedition that required a skilful 
leader, and promised a rich booty as the reward of suc- 
cess. Plummer always obeyed it, and, in this instance, 
left Bannack a little while after noon, taking a northerly 
direction towards Rattlesnake; but, after getting out of 



THE VIGILANTES OF MOXTANA. 49 

town, he changed his course and went south, towards 
Horse Prairie. 

Before leaving Bannack, he presented Mr. Hauser with 
a woollen scarf, telling him that he would u find it useful 
on the journey these cold nights." 

The two gentlemen did not complete their arrange- 
ments for starting till half past seven in the evening; 
and, as they were about leaving Hauser's cabin, a splash, 
caused by the fall of some heavy body in the water, and 
calls for assistance were heard from the brow of the hill, 
south of Bannack. Upon going to the spot, it was found 
that Henry Tilden, in attempting to cross the Bannack 
Ditch, had missed the bridge, and his horse had fallen 
upon him in the water. On being relieved from his dan- 
gerous situation, he went to the house of Judge (now 
Governor) Edgerton, and reported that he had been 
robbed by three men — one of whom was Plummer — be- 
tween Horse Prairie and Bannack. After he had de- 
tailed the circumstances, the greatest anxiety was felt for 
the safety of Messrs. Langford and Hauser, who, it was 
generally supposed, had started at five o'clock on the 
same road. 

The unconscious wayfarers, however, knew nothing of 
the matter, but they were, nevertheless, on the alert all 
the time. Hauser had that morning communicated to 
his friend Langford, his suspicion that the}' were being 
watched, and would be followed by the road agents, with 
the intention of plundering them, and while Langford 
was loading his gun with twelve revolver balls in each 
barrel, George Dart asked him why he was " filling the 
gun-barrel so full of lead;" to which Langford replied, 
that if they had any trouble with the road agents, it 
would be on that night. So well satisfied were they that 
an attack upon them was contemplated, that they car- 
ried their guns in their hands, ready cocked, throughout 
the whole journey to Horse Prairie, a distance of twelve 
miles, but they saw nothing of the ruffians who robbed 
young Tilden. 

It is supposed that Plummer and his gang had con- 
cluded that the non-appearance of the party was owing 



50 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

to the knowledge of what had happened in the afternoon 
and that they were not coming out at all, that night. 
This is the more probable, from the fact that Tilden ar- 
rived home in time to have communicated the story of 
his robbery to them before they started, and the freighter 
with whom they took passage had told them that morn- 
ing, in the presence of Plummer, that he would leave 
them behind if they were not ready to start by five o'clock 
p.m. It is not to be thought that Plummer would have 
risked a chance of missing them, by robbing Tilden of 
so small an amount as $10, unless he had felt sure that 
they would start at the time proposed. It is also likely 
that, as his intended victims did not make their appear- 
ance, he feared that the citizens of Bannack might turn 
out in search of the road agents who had attacked Til- 
den, and that it would be prudent to return home by a 
circuitous route, which he did. One thing is certain, 
when they missed them, Plummer went, in hot haste, 
to Langford's boarding house, to inquire whether he was 
gone, and on receiving an answer in the affirmative, rode 
off at once in pursuit. 

In the wagon with Langford and Hauser was a third 
passenger — a stranger to the rest of the party — who had 
sent forward his blankets by one of the vehicles which 
left at noon, and on his arrival at camp, he found them 
appropriated by some of the party, who had given up 
all ideas of seeing the others before morning, and had 
lain down for the night. 

Rather than disturb the sleepers, Langford directed 
his fellow traveller, who was in delicate health, to occupy 
the wagon with Hauser, while he himself took a buffalo 
robe and made a bedstead of mother earth. 

The night was a cold one, and becoming chilled through 
Langford arose and at first walked briskly up and down 
by the camp, in order to warm himself. After awhile, 
he turned his steps towards the creek, which was about 
one hundred and fifty yards distant, but with the instinc- 
tive caution engendered by a residence in the moun- 
tains, he armed himself w T ith his trusty " double-barrel/' 
and then, with his thoughts wandering to other scenes 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA, 5 1 

and other days, he slowly sauntered by the rippling 
waters. 

His musings were brought to a sudden close by the 
murmur of voices, borne on the breeze, accompanied by 
the well-known tramp of horses at speed. The banks of 
the rivulet were lined w r ith willows, and lay in deep 
shadow, except where an opening in the thicket disclosed 
the prairie that lay beyond, sleeping peacefully in the 
moonlight. Drawing aside the bushes he saw three 
mounted men in the act of passing one of these avenues, 
at the gallop. Roused to a sense of danger, he cocked 
his gun and followed them down stream, to a place where 
an interval between the thickets that lined both sides of 
the creek gave him a good sight of the night rangers, 
and stood Jin full view, his piece lying in the hollow of 
his hand, ready for instant service. 

As soon as he emerged from the shelter of the willows, 
and the horsemen became aware of his presence, they 
stopped for a few moments, and then bore away down 
the valley, determined to see the end of the matter, and 
having the brush for cover, while his friends were still 
within hail, if needed, the watcher pushed on for about 
two hundred yards and wading to the other bank, he had 
no sooner reached the top, than he saw four men at that 
moment mounting their horses. No sooner did they ob- 
serve him than they drove their spurs into their horses' 
flanks, and started on a run for Bannack. These men 
were Plummer, Buck Stinson, Ned Ray and George Ives, 
who, on their return to the town by another road, after 
the robbery of Tilden, having found, as before related, 
that Langford and Hauser had really gone, followed at 
once upon their track. 

But for the providential circumstances connected with 
the chance appropriation of the blankets, and the conse- 
quent sleeping of Langford on the ground, together with 
his accidental appearance with his gun in his hand, as if 
on guard — the whole party would have been murdered, 
as it was known to their pursuers that they had a con- 
siderable amount of treasure with them. 

The scarf which Plummer presented to Hauser was 



52 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

given for the purpose of enabling the cunning robber to 
identify his man by night. 

It is a somewhat singular coincidence that Plummer 
was hung on the next birthday of Hauser (the ioth of 
January, 1864). 

The party proceeded on their journey without inter- 
ruption, and on their arrival at Salt Lake City they were 
besieged by their acquaintances with inquiries concerning 
several parties who were known to have preceded them 
on the road thither by about a week; but the unfortu- 
nate objects of their solicitude never reached their desti- 
nation, or were afterwards heard of. They sleep in 
bloody graves; but where, how, and when they met their 
death, at the hands of the road agents, will probably 
never be known. The fate that could not be avoided 
was nevertheless avenged. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE REPULSE. 

" Though few the numbers — theirs the strife, 
That neither spares nor speaks for life." — Byron. 

In the present and succeeding chapters w r ill be found 
accounts of actual experiences with road agents, in the 
practice of their profession. The exact chronological 
order of the narrative has, in these cases, been broken 
in upon, that the reader may have a correct notion of 
what an attack by road agents usually was. We shall 
show at a future time what it too often became when 
bloodshed was added to rapine. As the facts related 
are isolated, the story is not injured by the slight an- 
achronism. 

About three weeks after the occurrences recorded in 
the last chapter, M ; S, Moody (Milt Moody), with three 



THE VIGILANTES OE MONTANA. 53 

wagons started, in company with a train of packers, for 
Salt Lake City. Among the latter were John McCor- 
mick, Billy Sloan, J. S. Rockfellow, J. M. Bozeman, 
Henry Branson and M. V. Jones. 

In the entire caravan there was probably from §75,000 
to $80,000 in gold, and it must not be supposed that such 
a splendid prize could escape the lynx-eyed vigilance of 
the road agents. 

Plummer engaged Dutch John and Steve Marshland 
for the job, and his selection was not a bad one, so far 
as Dutch John was concerned, for a more courageous, 
stalwart or reckless desperado never threw spurs on the 
flanks of a cayuse, or cried " Halt!" to a true man. Steve 
Marshland was a bold fellow when once in action; but 
he preferred what mountaineers call a "soft thing" to 
an open onslaught. This unprofessional weakness not 
only saved the lives of severalwhom we are proud to 
call friends, but ensured his own and his friends' capture 
and death at the hands of the Vigilantes. 

In Black Tail Deer Canyon the party were seated at 
breakfast, close to a sharp turn in the road, when they 
heard two men conversing, close at hand, but hidden by 
the brush. Says the "first robber," "You take my 
revolver and I'll take yours, and you come on right after 
me." Every man found his gun between his knees in 
less than no time, and not a few discovered that their 
revolvers were cocked. Pulsation became more active, 
and heads were "dressed " towards the corner. In a few 
moments Dutch John and Steve Marshland rode round 
the bend, with their shot-guns ready. On seeing the 
party prepared to receive them they looked confused, 
and reined up. Steve Marshland recognized Billy Sloan, 
and called out, " How do you do, Mr. Sloan?" to which 
Billy replied, "Very well, thank you." The last two words 
have been a trouble to Sloan ever since, being too figura- 
tive for his conscience. By way of excuse for their pres- 
ence, the road agents asked if the party had seen any 
horses, and whether they had any loose stock, saying 
that they had been informed by some half-breeds that 
the animals which thev claimed to be lost had been with 



54 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

their train. A decided negative being vouchsafed, they 
rode on. 

The robbers did not expect to come upon them so 
soon, and were not masked. But for this fact, and the 
sight of the weapons on hand for use, if required, the 
train would have been relieved of the responsibility at- 
taching to freighting treasure in those days without any 
delay. 

Little did the party imagine that the safety of their 
property and their lives hung upon a thread, and that, 
the evening before, the " prudence" of Steve Marshland 
had saved six or eight of the party from unexpected 
death. Yet so it was. Wagner and Marshland had fol- 
lowed their trail, and hitching their steeds to the bush, 
with their double-barrelled guns loaded with buckshot, 
and at full cock, they crawled up to within fifteen feet of 
the camp, and leisurely surveyed them by the light of 
the fire. The travellers lay around in perfect ignorance 
of the proximity of the road agents; their guns were 
everywhere but where they ought to be, and, without a 
sentry to warn them of the approach of danger, they 
carelessly exposed themselves to death, and their prop- 
erty to seizure. 

Wagner's proposal was that he and Marshland should 
select their men, and kill four with their shot-guns; that 
then they should move quickly around, and keep up a 
rapid fire with their revolvers, shouting loudly at the 
same time, to make them believe that they were attacked 
by a large concealed force. There was no fear of their 
snooting away all their charges, as the arms of the men 
who would inevitably fall would be at their disposal, and 
the chances were a hundred to one that the remainder 
would take to flight, and leave their treasure — for a con- 
siderable time, at all events — within reach of the rob- 
bers. Steve, however, " backed down," and the attack 
was deferred till the next day. 

It was the custom of the packers to ride ahead of the 
train towards evening, in order to select a camping 
place, and it was while the packers were thus separated 
from the train that the attack on the wagons took place. 



THE VIGILANTES OF 31 OX TAX A. 35 

On top of the Divide, between Red Rock and Junction, 
the robbers rode up to the wagons, called on them to 
halt, and gathering the drivers together, Dutch John sat 
on his horse, covering them with his shot-gun, while Steve 
dismounted and searched both them and their wagons. 

Moody had slipped a revolver into his boot, which was 
not detected; $100 in greenbacks, which were in his shirt 
pocket, were also unnoticed. The material wealth of 
Kit Erskine and his comrade driver appeared to be rep- 
resented by half a plug of tobacco for the preservation 
of which Kit pleaded; but Steve said it was "just what 
he wanted," and appropriated it forthwith. 

After attending to the men, Steve went for the wagons, 
which he searched, cutting open the carpet sacks, and 
found SUo 00 ' m treasury notes ; but he missed the gold, 
which was packed on the horses, in cantinas. In the hind 
wagon was a sick man named Kennedy, with his com- 
rade, Lank Forbes ; but the nerves of the first-men- 
tioned gentleman were so unstrung that he could not pull 
trigger when Steve climbed up and drew the curtain. 
Xot so with Forbes. He let drive and wounded Steve in 
the breast. With an oath and a yell Steve fell to his 
knees, but recovered, and jumping down from the 
wagon again fell, but rose and made, afoot, for the tall 
timber, at an amazing speed. The noise of the shot 
frightened Dutch John's horse, which reared as John 
discharged both barrels at the teamsters, and the lead 
whizzed past, just over their heads. Moody dropped his 
hand to his boot, and seizing the revolver, opened fire 
on Dutch John, who endeavored to increase the distance 
between him and the wagons to the best of his horse's 
ability. 

Three balls were sent after him, one of which took 
effect in his shoulder. Had Moody jumped on Marsh- 
land's horse and pursued him, he could have killed him 
easily, as the shot-gun was at his saddle bow. These re- 
flections and suggestions, however, occur more readily 
to a man sitting in an easy chair, than to the majority of 
the unfortunate individuals who happen to be attacked 
by masked highwaymen. 



56 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

* 

John's wound and Marshland's were proof conclusive 
of their guilt when they were arrested. John made for 
Bannack and was nursed there. Steve Marshland was 
taken care of at Deer Lodge. 

The packers wondered what had become of the 
wagons, and, though their anxiety was relieved, yet their 
astonishment was increased when, about three o'clock p.m. 
Moody rode up and informed them that his train had 
been attacked by road agents, who had been repulsed 
and wounded. 

Steve's horse, arms and equipage, together with twenty 
pounds of tea, found lying on the road, which had been 
stolen from a Mormon train previously, were, as an 
acquaintance of ours expresses it, " confiscated." 

J. S. Rockfellow and two others rode back, and 
striking the trail of Steve, followed it till eleven p.m. 
When afterwards arrested, this scoundrel admitted that 
they were within fifteen feet of him at one time. 

On the ground they found scattered along the trail of 
the fugitive robber all the stolen packages and enve- 
lopes, containing Treasury notes; so that he made noth- 
ing by his venture except frozen feet; and he lost his 
horse, arms and traps. J. X. Beidler met Dutch John, 
and bandaged up his frozen hands, little knowing who 
his frigid acquaintance was. He never tells this story 
without observing, " That's just my darned luck ;" at the 
same time polishing the butt of his " navy" with one 
hand, and scratching his head with the other, his grey 
eye twinkling like a star before rain with mingled 
humor and intelligence. 

Lank Forbes claimed the horse and accoutrements of 
Steve as the lawful spoil of his revolver, and the reward 
of his courage. A demurrer was taken to this by Milt 
Moody, who had done the agreeable to Dutch John, and 
the drivers put in a mild remonstrance on their own be- 
half, on the naval principle that all ships in sight share in 
the prize captured. They claimed that their " schooners" 
were entitled to be represented by the " steersmen." The 
subject afforded infinite merriment to the party at every 
camp. At last a judge was elected, a jury was empan- 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 57 

elled, and the attorneys harangued the judicial packers. 
The verdict was that Lank should remain seized and 
possessed of the property taken from the enemy, upon 
payment of $20 to each of the teamsters, and $30 to Milt, 
and thereupon the court adjourned. The travellers 
reached Salt Lake City in safety. 



CHAPTER XL 

THE ROBBERY OF PEABODY & CALDWELL'S COACH. 

"On thy dial write, ' Beware of thieves.'" — O. W. Holmes. 

Late in the month of October, 1863, the sickness of 
one of the drivers making it necessary to procure a sub- 
stitute, William Rumsey was engaged to take the coach 
to Bannack. In the stage, as passengers, were Messrs. 
Matteson, Percival and Wilkinson. After crossing the 
hills in the neighborhood of Virginia City it began to 
snow furiously, and the storm continued without abate- 
ment, till they arrived within two miles of John Baker's 
Ranch, on Stinkingwater, a stream which owes its eu- 
phonious appellation to the fact that the mountaineers 
who named it found on its banks the putrifying corpses 
of Indians, suspended horizontally, according to their 
usual custom, from a framework of poles. 

The corral at the station was found to be empty, and 
men were despatched to hunt up the stock. The herds- 
men came back at last with only a portion of Peabody & 
Caldwell's horses, the remainder belonging to A. J. 
Oliver & Co. This detained them two hours, and find- 
ing that they could do no better, they hitched up the 
leaders, that had come in with the coach, and putting on 
two of Oliver's stock for wheelers, they drove through to 
Bob Dempsey's on a run, in order to make up for lost 
time. 

At this place they took on board another passenger, 
Dan McFadden, more familiarly known as "Bummer 



58 THE VIGILANTES OE MONTANA. 

Dan." The speed was maintained all the way to Point 
of Rocks, then called Copeland's Ranch. There they 
again changed horses, and being still behind time, they 
went at the gallop to Bill Bunton's Ranch, on Rattle- 
snake, at which place they arrived about sunset. 

Here they discovered that the stock had been turned 
loose an hour before their arrival, the people stating that 
they did not expect the coach after its usual time was so 
long passed. Rumsey ordered them to send a man to 
gather up the team, which was done, and at dark the 
fellow came back, saying that he could not find them 
anywhere. The consequence was that they were obliged 
to lie over for the night. This was no great affliction ; 
so they spent the time drinking whiskey in mountain 
style — Bill Bunton doing the honors and sharing the 
grog. They had sense enough not to get drunk, being 
impressed with a seasonable conviction of the probability 
of the violation of the rights of property, if such should 
be the case. The driver had lost a pair of gauntlet 
gloves at the same place before. At daylight all arose, 
and two herders went out for the stock. One of them 
came back about eight o'clock, and said that the stock was 
gone. A little before nine o'clock the other herder 
came in with the stock that had hauled the coach over 
the last route. 

The only way they could manage was to put on a span 
of the coach horses, with two old " plugs" for the wheel. 
The whole affair was a plan to delay the coach, as the 
horses brought in were worn-down stock, turned out to 
recruit, and not fit to put in harness. During the pre- 
vious evening Bob Zachary, who seemed a great friend 
of Wilkinson's, told them that he had to go on horseback 
to Bannack, and to take a spare horse with him, which 
he wanted him to ride. The offer was not accepted at 
that time, but in the morning Bob told him that he 
must go, for he could not bring the horse along by him- 
self. The miserable team being brought out and har- 
nessed up, Oliver's regular coach and an extra one 
came in sight, just at the creek crossing. Soon Rumsey f 
shouted, "all aboard," the other stages came up, and all 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 59 

the passengers of the three vehicles turned in, on the 
mutual consolation principle, for a drink. Rumsey who 
sat still on the box, called, " All aboard for Bannack," 
and all took their seats but Wilkinson, who said he had 
concluded to go with Bob Zachary. Bill Bunton came 
out with the bottle and the glass, and gave Rumsey a 
drink, saying that he had not been in w r ith the rest, tell- 
ing him at the same time that he was going to Bannack 
himself, and that he wanted them to wait till he had 
got through with the rest of the passengers, for that then 
he would go w T ith them. While Bunton was in the 
house, Rumsey had been professionally swinging the 
whip, and found his arm so lame from the exercise of the 
day before that he could not use it. He thereupon 
asked the boys if any of them were good at whipping, 
but they all said " No." It was blustering, cold and 
cloudy — blowing hard; they let down the curtains. 
Finally, Bunton appeared, and Rumsey said, " Billy, are 
you good at whipping?" To which he answered, "Yes," 
and getting up w T hipped away, while Rumsey drove. A 
good deal of this kind of work was to be done, and Bun- 
ton said he w r as "a d d good whipper." They 

crossed the creek and went on the table land at a run. 
The horses, however, soon began to weaken, Bunton 
whipping heavily, his object being to tire the stock. 
Rumsey told him to " ease up on them," or they would 
not carry them through. Bunton replied that the 
wheelers were a pair that had " played out" on the road, 
and had been turned out to rest. He added that if they 
were put beyond a walk they would fail. They went on 
at a slow trot to the gulch, and there fell into a walk, 
when Bunton gave up the whip, saying that Rumsey 
could do the little whipping necessary and got inside. 
He sat down on a box beside Bummer Dan. Percival 
and Madison w r ere on the fore seat, with their backs to 
the driver. 

The stage moved on for about four minutes after this, 
when the coachman saw two men wrapped in blankets, 
with a hood over their heads, and a shot-gun apiece. 
The moment he saw them it flashed through his mind. 



60 THE VIGILANTES OE MONTANA. 

" like gunpowder" (as he afterward said), that they 
were road agents, and he shouted at the top of his 
voice, " Look ! look ! boys ! See what's a-coming ! Get 
out your arms !" Each man looked out of the nearest 
hole, but Matteson, from his position, was the only man 
that had a view of them. They were on full run for the 
coach, coming out of a dry gulch, ahead and to the left 
of the road, which ran into the main canyon. He in- 
stantly pulled open his coat, threw off his gloves, and 
laid his hand on his pistol, just as they came up to the 
leaders, and sang out, " Up wid your hands/' in a feigned 
voice and dialect. Rumsey pulled up the horses; and 

they again shouted, "Up with your hands, you " 

(See formula.) At that Bill Bunton cried imploringly, 
" Oh, for God's sake, men, don't kill one." (He was stool- 
pitching a little, to teach the rest of the passengers what 
to do.) " For God's sake, don't kill me. You can have 
all the money I've got." Matteson was just going for 
his pistol, when the road agents again shouted, " Up 
wid your hands," etc., "and keep them up." Bunton 
went at his prayers again, piteously exclaiming, " Oh! 
for God's sake, men, don't kill me. I'll come right to 
you. You can search me; I've got no arms." At the 
same time he commenced getting out on the same side 
of the coach as they were. 

The road agents then roared out, "Get down, every 

of you, and hold up your hands, or we'll shoot 

the first of you that puts them down." The passengers 
all got down in quick time. The robbers then turned to 

Rumsey, and said, " Get down, you " (as usual), 

"and take off the passengers' arms." This did not suit 

his fancy, so he replied, " You must be d d fools to 

think I'm going to get down and let this team run away. 
You don't want the team; it won't do you any good." 

"Get down, you ," said the spokesman, angrily. 

"There's a man that has shown you he has no arms; let 
him take them," suggested Billy. (Bunton had turned 
up the skirts of his coat to prove that he had no weapons 
on.) Bunton, who knew his business, called out, "I'll 
hold the horses! I'll hold the horses!" The road agent 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 6 1 

who did the talking, turned to him, saying, "Get up, 

you long-legged , and hold them." Bunton at 

once went to the leaders, behind the two road agents, 
and then wheeling round to Billy Rumsey, ordered him 
down from the box. He tied the lines round the handle 
of the brake and got down, receiving the following po- 
lite reminder of his duty, " Now, you , take them 

arms off." 

" Needs must when the Devil drives," says the proverb, 
so off went Billy to Bummer Dan, who had on two 
"navies," one on each side. Rumsey took them, and 
walked off diagonally, thinking that he might get a shot 
at them; but they were too knowing, and at once ordered 
him to throw them on the ground. He laid them down, 
and going back to Matteson, took his pistol off, laying it 
down beside the others, the robbers yelling to him, "Hurry 

up, you !" He then went to Percival, but he had 

no arms on. 

The road agents next ordered him to take the pas- 
sengers' money, and to throw it on the ground with the 
pistols. Rumsey walked over to Percival, who, taking 
out his sack, handed it to him. While he was handing 
over, Bill Bunton took out his own purse, and threw it 
about half way to Rumsey, saying, "There's a hundred 
and twenty dollars for you — all I have in the world; 
only don't kill me." 

Billy next went to Bummer Dan, who handed out two 
purses from his pocket. Rumsey took them, and threw 
them on the ground beside the pistols. The next man 
was Matteson; but as he dropped his hands to take out 
his money, the leader shouted, "Keep up your hands, 

you ! Take his money." Rumsey approached 

him, and putting his hand into his left pocket, found 
there a purse and a portemonnaie. Seizing the oppor- 
tunity, he asked, in a whisper, if there was anything in 
the portemonnaie. He said, "No." Rumsey turned to 
the robbers and said, " You don't want this, do you ?" 
holding up the portemonnaie. Matteson told them that 
there was nothing in it but papers. They surlily an- 
swered, "We don't want that," On examining the other 



02 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

pocket the searcher found a purse, which he threw out 
on the ground with the pistols. 

They then demanded of Rumsey whether he had all; 
and on his answering "Yes," turning to Matteson the 
leader said, " Is that all you've got ?" " No," said he, 
"there's another in here." He was holding up his hands 
when he spoke, and he nudged the pocket with his 
elbow. The road agent angrily ordered Rumsey to 
take it out, and not leave "nothing." He did as he was 
bidden, and threw the purse on the ground, after which 
he started for the coach, and had his foot on the hub of 
the wheel, when the robbers yelled out. " Where are you 

going, you ?" " To get on the coach, you fool," 

said the irate driver. "You've got aL there is." He in- 
stantly retorted, " Go back there and get that big sack," 
and added, pointing to Bummer Dan, " You're the man 

we're after. Get that strap off your shoulder, you d d 

Irish !" Bummer Dan had a strap over his 

shoulder, fastened to a large purse, that went down into 
his pants. He had thrown out two little sacks before. 

Seeing that there was no chance of saving his money, 
he commenced unbuckling the strap, and when Rumsey 
got to him he had it off. Billy took hold of the tab to 
pull it out, but it would not come; whereupon he let go 
and stepped back. Dan commenced to unbutton his 
pants, the " Cap" ordering Rumsey to jerk it off, or he 
would shoot him in a minute. While he was speaking 
Rumsey saw that Dan had another strap round his body, 
under his shirt. He stepped back again, saying, " You 
fools! you're not going to kill a man who is doing all he 
can for you. Give him time." They ordered him to 

hurry up, calling him "An awkward ," and telling 

him that they hadn't any more time to lose. Dan had 
by this time got the belt loose, and he handed Rumsey a 
big fringed bag, containing two other sacks. He received 
it, and tossed it beside the pistols. 

The road agents finished the proceedings by saying, 

"Get aboard, every of you; and get out of this; 

and if we ever hear a word from one of you, we'll kill you 
surer than h 1." 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 63 

They all got aboard, with great promptitude, Bunton 
mounting beside the driver (he did not want to get in- 
side then), and commenced to whip the horses, observing 

that that was a d d hot place for him, and he would 

get out of it as soon as he could. Rumsey saw, at a turn 
of the road by looking over the coach, that the road 
agents had dismounted, one holding the horses, while 
the other was picking up the plunder, which amounted to 
about $2,800. 

The coach went on to Bannack, and reported the rob- 
bery at Peabody's Express Office. George Hilderman 
was in Peabody's when the coach arrived. He seemed 
as much surprised as any of them. His business was to 
hear what would happen, and to give word if the passen- 
gers named either of the robbers, and then, on their re- 
turn, they would have murdered them. It was at this 
man's place that Geo. Ives and the gang with him 
were found. He was banished when Ives was hung. 
Had he been caught only a little time afterward, he 
would have swung with the rest, as his villainies were 
known. 

The road agents had a private mark on the coach, 
when it carried money, and thus telegraphed it along the 
road. Rumsey told in Bannack whom he suspected, 
but he was wrong. Bummer Dan and Percival knew 
them, and told Matteson; but neither of them ever di- 
vulged it until the men were hung. They were afraid 
of their lives. Frank Parrish confessed his share in this 
robbery. George Ives was the other. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA CITY, AND THE MURDER 
OF DILLINGHAM. 

Early in June, 1863, Alder Gulch was discovered by 
Tom Cover, Bill Fairweather, Barney Hughes, Edgar 
and some others. It was a sheer accident. After a long 



64 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

and unsuccessful tour they came thither on their way 
to Bannack, and one of them took a notion to try a pan 
of dirt. A good prospect was obtained, and the lucky 
" panner" gave his name to the far-famed " Fairweather 
District." 

Tom Cover and some others of the party returned to 
Bannack for provisions, and for the purpose of com- 
municating the discovery to their friends. A wild 
stampede was the consequence. 

One poor fellow, while in the willows at Beaver Head, 
being mistaken for a beaver, was accidentally shot by his 
comrade. He lived several days, and was carefully 
nursed by his slayer, who was greatly grieved at the 
occurrence. The stampeders came in w T ith pack animals. 
Colonel McLean brought the first vehicle to the Gulch. 
The stampede reached the Gulch on the 6th of June. 
The course of the stream was marked by the alders, that 
filled the Gulch so densely as to prevent passage in 
many places. Some people camped on the edge of the 
brush, about three fourths of a mile above the town, ac- 
cidentally set it on fire, and, with a tremendous roar, the 
flames swept down the creek, and burned up the entire 
undergrowth. 

Almost immediately after the first great rush from 
Bannack — in addition to the tents, brush wakiups and 
extempore fixings for shelter — small log cabins were 
erected. The first of these w T as the Mechanical Bakery, 
now standing near the lower end of Wallace street. 
Morier's saloon went up at about the same time, and the 
first dwelling house was built by John Lyons. After 
this beginning, houses rose as if by magic. Dick Hamil- 
ton, Root & Davis, J. E. McClurg, Hall & Simpson, N. 
Story and O. C. Matthews, were among the first mer- 
chants. Dr. Steele was first President of the Fairweather 
District. Dr. G. G. Bissel was the first Judge of the 
Miner's Court. The duty of the Recorder's Office was, 
we believe, performed by James Furgus. 

Among the citizens were S. S. Short, Sweney and 
Rogers (discoverers), Johnny Green, Nelson Ptomey, 
Judge Potter of Highland, Jem Galbraith, Judge Smith 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 65 

(afterwards banished), W. F. Bartlett, C. Crouch, Bixter 
& Co., Tom Conner, William Cadwell, W. Emerick, Frank 
Heald, Frank Woody, Marcellus Lloyd, Washburne 
Stapleton, John Sharp, Jerry Nowlaii, E. C. Stickney, 
Frank Watkins, T. L. Luce (Mechanical Bakery), Robin- 
son and Cooley, the first bakers (open air), Hugh 
O'Neil, of fistic fame, Jem Vivian, Jack Russell, the first 
man who panned out " wages" in the Grasshopper Creek, 
Sargent Tisdale, W. Nowlan, of the Bank, Tom Duffy, 
John Murphy, Jem Patton, Jno. Kane, Pat Lynch, John 
Robertson, Worcester Wymans and Charley Wymans, 
Barney Gilson, and many others. 

The first name given to the present capital of Mon- 
tana was "Varina," in honor of Jeff. Davis's wife, but it 
was soon changed to "Virgina." Dr. (Judge) G. G. 
Bissel was the first man that wrote it Virginia. Being 
asked to head a legal document with " Varina," he 

bluntly said he would see them d d first, for that was 

the name of Jeff. Davis's wife; and, accordingly, as he 
wrote it, so it remained. From this little circumstance 
it will be seen that politics were anything but forgotten 
on the banks of Alder Creek; but miners are sensible 
men, in the main, and out in the mountains a good man 
makes a good friend, even where political opinions are 
widely different. The mountaineer holds his own like a 
vice, and he extends the same privilege to others. The 
theory is, " You may drive your stake where you darned 
please; only, if you try to jump my claim, I'll go for you, 
sure." 

That is the basis of the mountain man's creed, in love, 
law, war, mining, and, in fact, in everything regulated by 
principle. 

Of course a number of the roughs came over when the 
Gulch was settled, prominent among whom was Cyrus 
Skinner. Per contra, "X," was among the early inhabi- 
tants, which fact reminds us of the line in Cato's soliloquy, 

" My bane and antidote are both before me." 

The celebrated " Rogues Antidote," aforesaid has, how- 
ever, survived all the renowned road agents of the period 



66 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

alluded to. The true Western man is persistent, tough, 
and hard to abolish. Fierce, flighty spirits, like Lord 
Byron — when they get into trouble — say, 

'■ Better perish by the shock, 
Than moulder piecemeal on the rock." 

The motto of the mountaineer, put into similar shape, 
would read, 

" Never say die, but brave the shock 
While there's a shell-fish on the rock." 

Which sentiment, though equally forcible, we reluctantly 
admit is, perhaps, a shade less poetical; but it is, never- 
theless, good philosophy, which, with all respect for his 
lordship, is the reverse of what should be said of the 
teaching derivable from the beautiful lines of that erring 
genius. 

As a proof of the address and tact of Plummer, and of 
the terrible state of society, it may be mentioned that he 
got himself elected Sheriff at Bannack, despite of his 
known character, and immediately appointed two of his 
road agents, Buck Stinson and Ned Ray, as Deputies. 
Nor did he remain contented with that; but he had the 
effrontery to propose to a brave and good man in Vir- 
ginia that he should make way for him there, and as 
certain death would have been the penalty for a refusal, 
he consented. Thus Plummer was actually Sheriff of 
both places at once. This politic move threw the un- 
fortunate citizens into his hands completely, and by 
means of his robber deputies — whose legal functions 
cloaked many a crime — he ruled with a rod of iron. 

The marvellous riches of the great Alder Gulch at- 
tracted crowds from all the West, and afterward from 
the East, also; among whom were many diseased w r ith 
crime to such an extent that for their cure the only 
available prescription was a stout cord and a good drop. 

Plummer had appointed as his Deputies, Jack Galla- 
gher, Buck Stinson and Ned Ray. The head Deputy was 
a man of another stripe entirely, named Dillingham, 
who had accurate knowledge of the names of the mem- 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 67 

bers of the road agent band, and was also acquainted 
with many of their plans, though he himself was inno- 
cent. He told a man named Dodge, who was going to 
Virginia with Wash Stapleton and another, that Buck 
Stinson, Haze Lyons and Charley Forbes intended to 
rob them. Dodge, instead of keeping his counsel, 
foolishly revealed the whole affair to the robbers, who, 
of course, were much struck at the news. Haze ejacu- 
lated " ! is that so ?" The three men at once con- 
cluded to murder Dillingham. 

At Rattlesnake, Haze Lyons came to Wash Stapleton, 
who was on the road between Bannack and Virginia, and 
asked him if he had heard about the intended robbery, 
adding that he had followed Dillingham that far, and 
that he had come to kill him, but he said that he feared 
that he had heard about it, and had got out of the coun- 
try. Wash, who says he has felt more comfortable, even 
when sleeping in church — at once replied, "No; this is 
the first I've heard of it. I have only $100 in greenbacks, 
and they may as well take them, if they want them, and 

let me go." The other swore it was all a d d lie, and 

they separated. 

The robbers went on to Virginia. Jack Gallagher 
came to X, and wanted a pony for his friend Stinson to 
ride down the Gulch. At first his request was refused, 
the owner saying that he wanted to ride it down the 
Gulch himself. Jack insisted, and promising that he 
would be back in half an hour, X lent it to him. He was 
away for two hours, and the proprietor was " as hot as a 
wolf," when he came back. The truth was that they had 
been consulting and fixing the programme for the murder 
which was arranged for the next day, they having dis- 
covered that Dillingham was in the Gulch. 

In the morning Buck Stinson, Haze Lyons and 
Charley Forbes might be seen engaged in a grand 
" Medicine talk," in the neighborhood of a brush wak- 
iup, where Dr. Steele was holding court, and trying the 
right to a bar claim, the subject of a suit between F. 
Ray and D. Jones. Dillingham was standing close by 
the impromptu Hall of Justice, when the three road 



68 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

agents came up. "We want to see you/' said Haze; 
Stinson walked a pace or two ahead of the others. 
Haze was on one side and Forbes was behind. " Bring 
him along ! Make him come!" said Buck Stinson, half 
turning and looking over his shoulder. They walked on 
about ten paces, when they all stopped, and the three 

faced towards Dillingham. " you, take back 

those lies," said Haze, and instantly the three pulled 
their pistols and fired, so closely together that eyesight 
was a surer evidence of the number of shots discharged 
than hearing. There was a difference, however. Haze 
fired first, his ball taking effect in the thigh. Dilling- 
ham put his hand to the spot, and groaned. Buck 
Stinson's bullet went over his head; but Charley Forbes' 
shot passed through his breast. On receiving the bul- 
let in the chest, Dillingham fell like an empty sack. He 
was carried into a brush wakiup, and lived but a very 
short time. 

Jack Gallagher, being Deputy Sheriff, settled the mat- 
ter very neatly and effectively (for his friends). He 
rushed out as per agreement, and took their pistols, put- 
ting them together and reloading Buck Stinson's, so that 
no one knew (that would tell) whose pistols fired the fatal 
shots. 

The men were, of course, arrested. Red tape is an 
institution not yet introduced among miners. A captain 
of the guard, elected by the people, and a detail of 
miners, took charge of the prisoners, w T ho were lodged 
in a log building, where John Mings's store now stands. 

A people's court was organized and the trial com- 
menced. It was a trial by the people en masse. For 
our own part, knowing as we do the utter impossibility 
of all the voters hearing half the testimony; seeing also 
that the good and the bad are mingled, and that a thief's 
vote will kill the well-considered verdict of the best citi- 
zen, in such localities and under such circumstances 
verdicts are as uncertain as the direction of the wind on 
next Tibb's Eve. We often hear of the justice of the 
masses — "in the long run;" but a man may get hung 
" in the short run" — or may escape the rope he has so 



THE VIGILANTES OE MONTANA. 69 

remorselessly earned, which is, by a thousand chances to 
one, the more likely result of a mass trial. The chances 
of a just verdict being rendered is almost a nullity. 
Prejudice, or selfish fear of consequences, and not rea- 
son, rules the illiterate, the lawless, and the uncivilized. 
These latter are in large numbers in such places, and if 
they do right it is by mistake. We are of Tenterden's 
opinion in the matter of juries (in cases like these). 
u Gentlemen of the Jury," said his Lordship, to eleven 
hard-looking followers of a consequential foreman, in an 
appalling state of w T atch-chain and shirt frill, "allow 
me to congratulate you upon the soundness of your ver- 
dict; it is highly creditable to you." " My Lord," re- 
plied the pursy and fussy little bald-pated and spec- 
tacled foreman, " the ground on which we based our 
verdict was — " " Pardon me, Mr. Foreman," interrupted 
the Judge, " your verdict is perfectly correct; the ground 
on which it is based is most probably entirely untenable." 
The favors of the dangerous classes are bestowed, not on 
the worthy, but on the popular, who are their uncom- 
missioned leaders. Such favors are distributed like sail- 
ors' prize money, which is nautically supposed to be 
sifted through a ladder. What goes through is for the 
officers; what sticks on the rounds is for the men. 

James Brown and H. P. A. Smith were in favor of a 
trial by twelve men; but E. R. Cutler opposed this, for 
he knew that the jury would have been empanelled by 
a road agent sheriff. A vote was taken on the ques- 
tion, by "Ayes" and " Noes;" but this failing, two wagons 
were drawn up, with an interval between them. Those 
in favor of a trial by a jury of -twelve went through first. 
Those who preferred a trial by the people traversed the 
vehicular defile afterward. The motion of a jury for the 
whole prevailed. 

judge G. G. Bissell was appointed President by virtue 
of his office. He stated that it was an irregular proceed- 
ing, but that if the people would appoint two reliable 
men to sit with him, he would carry it through. This 
was agreed to, Dr. Steel and Dr. Rutar being chosen as 
associates. Three doctors were thus appointed Judges, 



70 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

and naturally enough directed the " medicine talk" on 
the subject. 

E. R. Cutler, a blacksmith, was appointed Public 
Prosecutor; Jem Brown was elected assistant; Judge H. 
P. A. Smith was for the defence, and the whole body of 
the people were jurors. We may add that the jury box' 
was Alder Gulch, and that the throne of Justice was a 
wagon, drawn up at the foot of what is now Wallace 
street. 

The trial commenced by the indictment of Buck Stin- 
son and Haze Lyons, and continued till dark, when the 
court adjourned. The prisoners were placed under a 
strong guard at night. They were going to chain them, 
but they would not submit. Charley Forbes said he 
"would suffer death first." This (of course?) suited the 
guard of miners, and quick as a flash down came six 
shot-guns in a line with Charley's head. The opinion 
of this gentleman on the subject of practical concatena- 
tion underwent an instantaneous change. He said 
mildly, " Chain me." The fetters were composed of a 
light logging chain and padlocks. 

All was quiet during the rest of the night; but Haze 
sent for a " leading citizen," who, covered by the guns 
of the guard, approached and asked him what he wanted. 
" Why," said he, " I want you to let these men off. I 
am the man that killed Dillingham. I came over to do 
it, and these men are innocent. I was sent here by the 
best men in Bannack to do it." Upon being asked who 
they were, he named some of the best citizens, and then 
added, "Henry Plummer told me to shoot him." The 
first half of the statement was an impossible falsehood, 
many of the men knowing nothing of the affair for sev- 
eral days after. The last statement was exactly true. 

After breakfast the trial was resumed, and continued 
till near noon. The attorneys had by this time finished 
their pleas, and the question was submitted to the peo- 
ple, "Guilty, or not Guilty ?" A nearly unanimous ver- 
dict of " Guilty," was returned. The question as to 
the punishment to be inflicted was next submitted by 
the President, and a chorus of voices from all parts of 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 7 1 

the vast assembly shouted, " Hang them." Men were at 
once appointed to build a scaffold and to dig the graves 
of the doomed criminals. 



CHAPTER XII. 

In the mean time Charley Forbes's trial went on. An 
effort was made to save Charley on account of his good 
looks and education, by producing a fully loaded pistol, 
which they proved (?) was his. It was, however, Buck 
Stinson's, and had been " set right" by Gallagher. The 
miners had got weary, and many had wandered off when 
the question was put; but his own masterly appeal, which 
was one of the finest efforts of eloquence ever made in 
the mountains, saved him. 

Forbes was a splendid looking fellow — straight as a 
ramrod; handsome, brave and agile as a cat in his move- 
ments. His friends believed that he excelled Plummer 
in quickness and dexterity at handling his revolver. He 
had the scabbard sewn to the belt, and wore the buckle 
always exactly in front, so that his hand might grasp the 
butt, with the forefinger on the trigger and the thumb on 
the cock, with perfect certainty, whenever it was needed, 
which was pretty often. 

Charley told a gentleman of the highest respectability 
that he killed Dillingham, and he used to laugh at the 
" softness" of the miners who acquitted him. He more- 
over warned the gentleman mentioned that he would 
be attacked on his road to Salt Lake; but the citizen was 
no way scary, and said, "You can't do it, Charley; your 
boys are scattered and we are together, and we shall give 

you , if you try it." The party made a sixty mile 

drive the first day, and thus escaped molestation. Char- 
ley had corresponded with the press, some articles on the 
state and prospects of the Territory having appeared in 
the California papers, and were very well written. 

Charley was acquitted by a nearly unanimous vote. 
Judge Smith burst into tears, fell on his neck and kissed 



72 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA, 

him, exclaiming, " My boy! my boy!" Hundreds pressed 
found him, shaking hands and cheering, till it seemed to 
strike them all at once that there were two men to hang r 
which was even more exciting, and the crowd " broke' r 
for the " jail." 

A wagon was drawn up by the people to the door, in 
which the criminals were to ride to the gallows. They 
were then ordered to get into the wagon, which they did, 
several of their friends climbing in with them. 

At this juncture Judge Smith was called for, and 
then, amidst tremendous excitement and confusion, 
Haze Lyons crying and imploring mercy, a number of 
ladies, much affected, begged earnestly to " Save the poor 
young boys' lives." The ladies admit the crying, but 
declare that they wept in the interest of fair play. One 
of them saw Forbes kill Dillingham, and felt that it was 
popular murder to hang Stinson and Lyons, and let off 
the chief desperado because he was good-looking. She 
had furnished the sheet with which the dead body was 
covered. 

We cannot blame the gentle-hearted creatures; but we 
deprecate the practice of admitting the ladies to such 
places. They are out of their path. Such sights are un- 
fit for them to behold, and in rough and masculine busi- 
ness of every kind women should bear no part. It un- 
sexes them, and destroys the most lovely part of their 
character. A woman is a queen in her own home; but 
we neither want her as a blacksmith, a plough-woman, a 
soldier, a lawyer, a doctor, nor in any such professions 
or handicraft. As sisters, mothers, nurses, friends, sweet- 
hearts and wives, they are the salt of the earth, the sheet 
anchor of society, and the humanizing and purifying 
element in humanity. As such they cannot be too much 
respected, loved and protected. But from Blue Stock- 
ings, Bloomers, and strong-minded she-males generally, 
"Good Lord, deliver us." 

A letter (written by other parties to suit the occasion) 
was produced, and a gentleman — a friend of Lyons — 
asked that " The letter which Haze had written to his 
mother might be read." This was done, amid cries of 



'THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 73 

" Read the letter/' " — —the letter;" while others who 
saw how it would turn out shouted, "Give him a horse 
and let him go to his mother." A vote was taken again, 
after it had all been settled, as before mentioned — the 
first time by ayes and noes. Both parties claimed the 
victory. The second party was arranged so that the 
party for hanging should go up-hill, and the party for 
clearing should go down-hill. The down-hill men claimed 
that the prisoners were acquitted, but the up-hills would 
not give way. All this time confusion confounded reigned 
around the w r agon. The third vote was differently man- 
aged, Two pairs of men were chosen, Between one 
pair passed those who were for carrying the sentence 
into execution, and between the other pair marched those 
who were for setting them at liberty. The latter party 
ingeniously increased their votes by the simple but effec- 
tual expedient of passing through several times, and 
finally an honest Irish miner, who was not so weak- 
kneed as the rest, shouted out, " Be , there's a bloody 

naygur voted three times." The descendant of Ham 
broke for the willows at top speed, on hearing this an- 
nouncement. This vote settled the question, and Gal- 
lagher, pistol in hand, shouted, " Let them go, they're 
cleared." Amidst a thousand confused cries of " Give 
the murderers a horse," " Let them go," " Hurrah," etc., 
one of the men, seeing a horse with an Indian saddle, 
belonging to a Blackfoot squaw, seized it, and mounting 
both on the same animal, the assassins rode at a gallop 
out of the Gulch. One of the guard remarked to another 
— pointing at the same time to the gallows — " There is a 
monument of disappointed Justice." 

While all this miserable farce was being enacted, the 
poor victim of the pardoned murderers lay stark and 
stiff on a gambling table, in a brush wakiup, in the Gulch. 
Judge Smith came to X, and asked if men enough could 
not be found to bury Dillingham. X said there were 
plenty, and, obtaining a wagon, they put the body into a 
coffin, and started up the " Branch," towards the present 
graveyard on Cemetery Hill, where the first grave was 
opened in Virginia, to receive the body of the murdered 



74 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

man. As the party proceeded, a man said to Judge Smith, 
" Only for my dear wife and daughter, the poor fellows 
would have been hanged." A citizen, seeing that the so- 
called ladies had not a tear to shed for the victim, 
promptly answered, " I take notice that your dear wife 
and daughter have no tears for poor Dillingham, but 
only for two murderers." " Oh," said the husband, "I 
cried for Dillingham." " Darned well you thought of 
it," replied the mountaineer. A party of eight or ten 
were around the grave, when one asked who would per- 
form the burial service. Some one said, " Judge, you 
have been doing the talking for the last three days, and 
you had better pray." The individual addressed knelt 
down and made a long and appropriate prayer; but it 
must be stated that he was so intoxicated that kneeling 
was, at least, as much a convenience as it was a necessity. 
Some men never " experience religion" unless they are 
drunk. They pass through the convivial and the narrative 
stages into the garrulous, from which they sail into the 
religious, and are deeply affected. The scene closes with 
the lachrymose or weeping development, ending in pig- 
like slumbers. Any one thus moved by liquor is not re- 
liable. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE ROBBERY OF THE SALT LAKE MAIL COACH BY GEORGE 
IVES, BILL GRAVES alias WHISKEY BILL, AND BOB ZACHARY. 

" Which is the villain ? Let me see his eyes, 
That when I note another man like him 
I may avoid him." — Shakespeare. 

At the latter end of the month of November, 1863, 
Oliver's Salt Lake coach, driven by Thos. C. Caldwell, 
left Virginia for Salt Lake City, carrying as passengers 
Leroy Southmayde and Captain Moore. There was also 
a discharged driver named Billy. At about three p.m. 
they reached Loraine's Ranch, where George Ives rode 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA, 7$ 

up and stopped. He wanted to get a change of horses, 
but could not obtain them. He then ordered grain for 
his horse, standing beside Southmayde all the time. 
Suddenly he said, " I have heard of Tex; he is at Cold 
Spring Ranch," and then ordered his horse. Steve 
Marshland was in his company. Between Loraine's and 
Cold Spring Ranch they passed the coach, and sure 
enough there the three were, in conversation at the 
Ranch, as the stage drove up. 

Tex, alias Jem Crow, afterward stated that they told 
him they were going tu rob the stage that night. Old 
Tex was watching the coach when it started from Vir- 
ginia, and Captain Moore observing him and knowing 
his character, told Southmayde that he did not like to 
see him there. Circumstances and conclusive testimony 
have since proved that he was the spy, and being fur- 
nished with a fleet horse, he rode across the country, at 
full speed, heading the coach, as before described. 

They drove on to the Point of Rocks, and there they 
lay over till morning. At Stone's Ranch the road agents 
made a circuit and passed the coach unobserved. Ives 
had been joined, in the meanwhile, by Whiskey Bill and 
Bob Zachary. About eleven a.m. the travellers overtook 
the three road agents. Each one had his shot-gun lying 
over his left arm, and they appeared, from behind, like 
hunters. As the stage came up they wheeled their 
horses at once, and presented their pieces. Bill Graves 
drew a bead on Tom Caldwell; Ives covered Southmayde, 
while Bob Zachary, keeping his gun pointed at the coach, 
watched Captain Moore and Billy. 

Southmayde had the opportunity of looking down the 
barrels of Ives's gun, and could almost see the buckshot 
getting ready for a jump. As a matter of taste, he thinks 
such a sight anything but agreeable or edifying, and if 
his luck should bring him in the vicinity of road agents 
in pursuit of their calling, he confidentially informs us 
that he would prefer a side view of the operation, as he 
would then be able to speak dispassionately of the affair. 
To report without " fear, favor, or affection" is rather 
hard when the view is taken in front, at short range. 



h /6 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

Without "favor or affection" can be managed; but the 
observance of the first condition would necessitate an in- 
difference to a shower of " cold pewter," possessed only 
by despairing lovers of the red-cover novelette class, 
and these men never visit the mountains; alkali, sage 
brush fires, and " beef-straight" having a decidedly " ma- 
terial " tendency, and being very destructive of sentiment. 
Ives called out, "Halt! throw up your hands," and then 
bade Zachary " Get down and look after those fellows." 

Accordingly Bob dismounted, and leaving his horse, 
he walked, gun in hand, up to Southmayde. While en- 
gaged in panning out Southmayde's dust he trembled 
from head to foot (and that not with cold). 

The appearance of the road agents, at this moment, 
was striking, and not at all such as would be desired by 
elderly members of the " Peace party." Each man had 
on a green and blue blanket, covering the body entirely. 
Whiskey Bill wore a " plug" hat (the antitype of the 
muff on a soup-plate usually w T orn in the East). His 
sleeves were rolled up above the elbow; he had a black 
silk handkerchief over his face, with holes for sight and 
air, and he rode a grey horse, covered from the ears to 
the tail with a blanket, which,' however, left the head and 
legs exposed to view. George Ives's horse was blanketed 
in the same way. It was a dappled grey, with a roached 
mane. He himself was masked with a piece qf a grey 
blanket, with the necessary perforations. Zachary rode 
a blue-grey horse, belonging to Bob Dempsey (" all the 
country" was their stable) — blanketed like the others — 
and his mask was a piece of a Jersey shirt. 

Ives was on the off side of the driver, and Graves on 
the nearside. When Zachary w T alked up to Southmayde, 
he said, "Shut your eyes." This Southmayde respect- 
fully declined, and the matter was not pressed. Bob then 
took Leroy's pistol and money, and threw them down. 

While Southmayde was being robbed, Billy, feeling 
tired, put down his hands, upon which Ives instantly 

roared out, " Throw them up, you ." It is recorded 

that Billy obeyed with alacrity, though not with cheer- 
fulness. 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. *]7 

Zachary walked up to Captain Moore and made a sim- 
ilar request. The Captain declared, with great solem- 
nity, as he handed him his purse, that it was " all he had 
in the world;" but it afterward appeared that a sum of 
$25 was not included in that estimate of his terrestrial 
assets, for he produced this money when the road 
agents had disappeared. 

Continuing his search, the relieving officer came to 
Billy, and demanded his pistol, which was immediately 
handed over. Ives asked, " Is it loaded?" and being an- 
swered in the negative, told Bob to give it back to the 
owner. Tom Caldwell's turn came next. He had several 
small sums belonging to different parties, which he was 
carrying for them to their friends, and he had also been 
commissioned to make some purchases. As Bob ap- 
proached him he exclaimed, "My God! what do you 
want with me? I have nothing." Graves told Zachary to 
let him alone, and inquired if there was anything in the 
mail that they wanted. Tom said he did not think that 
there was. Zachary stepped upon the brake bar and 
commenced an examination, but found nothing. As 
Caldwell looked at Zachary while he was thus occupied 
Ives ordered him not to do that. Tom turned and asked if 
he might look at him. Ives nodded. 

Having finished his search, Zachary picked up his gun, 
and stepped back. Ives dismissed the " parade" with 
the laconic command, " Get up and \ skedaddle.' ' 

The horses were somewhat restive, but Tom held them 
fast, and Southmayde, with a view to reconnoitring, 
said in a whisper, "Tom, drive slow." Ives called out, 
" Drive on." Leroy turned round on his seat, deter- 
mined to find out who the robbers were, and looked 
carefully at them for nearly a minute, which, Ives at 
last observing, he yelled out, "If you don't turn round, 
and mind your business, I'll shoot the top of your head 
off." The three robbers gathered together and re- 
mained watching till the coach was out of sight. 

Leroy Southmayde lost $400 in gold, and Captain 
Moore delivered up $100 in Treasury notes, belonging 
to another man. 



75 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

The coach proceeded on its way to Bannack without 
further molestation, and on its arrival there Plummer 
was in waiting, and asked, " Was the coach robbed to- 
day?" and being told that it had been, as Southmayde 
jumped down, he took him by the arm, and knowing him 
to be Sheriff, Southmayde was just about to tell him all 
about it, when Judge G. G. Bissel gave Leroy a slight 
nudge, and motioned for him to step back, which he did, 
and the Judge told him to be very careful what he told 
that man, meaning Plummer; Southmayde closed one 
eye as a private signal of comprehension, and rejoined 
Plummer, who said, " I think I can tell you who it was 
that robbed you." Leroy asked " Who?" Plummer re- 
plied, " George Ives w T as one of them." Southmayde 
said, "I know; and the others were Whiskey Bill and 
Bob Zachary; and I'll live to see them hanged before 
three weeks." Plummer at once walked off, and though 
Leroy was in town for three days, he never saw him af- 
terward. The object of Plummer's accusation of Ives 
was to see whether Southmayde really knew anything. 
Some time after, Judge Bissel — who had overheard 
Southmayde telling Plummer who the thieves were — 
remarked to him, " Leroy, your life is not worth a cent." 

On the second day after, as Tom was returning, he 
saw Graves at the Cold Spring Ranch, and took him on 
one side, asking him if he had heard of the " little rob- 
bery." Graves replied that he had, and asked him if he 
knew who were the perpetrators. Tom said " No," add- 
ing, " And I wouldn't for the world; for if I did, and 
told of them, I shouldn't live long." " That's a fact, 
Tom," said Graves, " you wouldn't live fifteen minutes. 
I'll tell you of a circumstance as happened to me about 
bein' robbed in Californy. 

" One night about ten o'clock, me and my partner was 
ridin' along, and two fellers rode up and told us to 
throw up our hands, and give up our money. We did 
it pretty quick I guess. They got $2,000 in coined gold 
from us. I told 'em, ' Boys,' sez I, ' it's pretty rough to 
take all we've got.' So the feller said it was rather 
rough, and he gave us back $40. About a week after I 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 79 

seen the two fellers dealin' faro. I looked pretty hard 
at them and went out. One of the chaps follered me, 
and sez he, 'Ain't you the man that was robbed the 
other night?' ' No,' sez I, for I was afraid to tell him 
the truth. Sez he, ' I want you to own up; I know 
you're the man. Now I'm agoing to give you $4,000 for 

keeping your mouth shut,' and he did, . Now you 

see, Tom, that's what I got for keeping my mouth shut. 
I saved my life, and got $4,000." 

Ives made for Virginia City, and there told in a house 
of ill fame that he was the Bamboo chief that made 

Tom Caldwell throw up his hands, and that, , he 

would do it again. He and a Colorado driver who was 
a friend of Caldwell's went together to Nevada. Each 
of them had a shot-gun. Ives was intoxicated. The 
driver asked Ives whom did he suppose to be the rob- 
bers, to which he quickly replied, " I am the Bamboo 
chief that robbed it," etc., etc., as before mentioned. 
The man then said, " Don't you think Tom knows it?" 
" Of course I do," said George. As they came back to 
town, the driver saw Tom, and waved to him to keep 
back, which he did, and sent a man to inquire the rea- 
son of the signal. The messenger brought him back in- 
formation of what had passed, and told him to keep out 
of Ives's way, for he was drunk and might kill him. 

That same evening, Tom and his friend went to the 
Cold Spring Ranch together on the coach, and the entire 
particulars came out in conversation. The driver fin- 
ished the story by stating that he sat on his horse, ready 
to shoot Ives, if he should succeed in getting the "drop" 
on Caldwell. 

Three days after, when Southmayde was about to re- 
turn from Bannack, Buck Stinson and Ned Ray came 
into the Express Office, and asked who were for Virginia. 
On being told that there were none but Southmayde, 
they said, " Well, then, we'll go." The agent came over 
and said to Leroy, " For God's sake, don't go; I believe 
you'll be killed." Southmayde replied, " I have got to go; 
and if you'll get me a double-barrelled shot-gun, I will 
take my chances." Oliver's agent accordingly provided 



80 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

Leroy Southmayde, Tom Caldwell, and a young lad 
about sixteen years of age, who was also going by the 
coach to Virginia, with a shot-gun each. Leroy rode with 
Tom. They kept a keen eye on a pair of road agents, 
one driving and the other w T atching. 

The journey was as monotonous as a night picket, 
until the coach reached the crossing of the Stinkingwater, 
where two of the three men that robbed it (Bob Zachary 
and Bill Graves) were together, in front of the station, 
along with Aleck Carter. Buck Stinson saw them and 

shouted, " Ho! you road agents." Said Leroy to 

Tom Caldwell, " Tom, we're gone up." Said Tom, 
" That's so." 

At the Cold Spring Station, where the coach stopped 
for supper, the amiable trio came up. They were of 
course fully armed with gun, pistols and knife. Two of 
them set down their guns at the door and came in. 
Aleck Carter had his gun slung at his back. Bob Zach- 
ary, feigning to be drunk, called out, " I'd like to see the 

man that don't like Stone." Finding that, as far as 

could be ascertained, everybody present had a very high 
opinion of Stone, he called for a treat to all hands, which 
having been disposed of, he bought a bottle of whiskey, 
and behaved " miscellaneously" till the coach started. 

After going about a quarter of a mile, they wheeled 
their horses and called " Halt." The instant the word 
left their lips, Leroy dropped his gun on Alick Carter; 
Tom Caldwell and the other passenger each picked his 
man, and drew a bead on him at the same moment. 
Aleck Carter called out, " We only want you to take a 

drink; but you can shoot and be , if you want 

to." Producing the bottle, it was handed round; but 
Leroy and Tom only touched their lips to it. Tom be- 
lieved it to be poisoned. After politely inquiring if any 

of the wanted any more, they wheeled their horses, 

saying, " We're off for Pete Daley's," and clapped 
spurs to their horses, and headed for the Ranch, going 
on a keen run. 

Before leaving Cold Spring Ranch, Leroy South- 
mayde told Tom that he saw through it all, and would 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA, 8 1 

leave the coach; but Tom said he would take Buck up 
beside him, and that surely the other fellow could watch 
Ray. Buck did not like the arrangement; but Tom 
said, " You're an old driver, and I want you up with 
me, ." 

The two passengers sat with their shot-guns across 
their knees, ready for a move on the part of either of the 
robbers. 

At Loraine's Ranch, Leroy and Caldwell went out a 
little way from the place, with the bridles in their 
hands, and talked about the "situation." They agreed 
that it was pretty rough, and were debating the propri- 
ety of taking to the brush, and leaving the coach, when 
their peace of mind was in no way assured by seeing 
that Buck Stinson was close to them, and must have 
overheard every word they had uttered. Buck endeav- 
ored to allay their fears by saying there was no dan- 
ger. They told him that they were armed, and that 
if they were attacked they would make it a warm time 
for some of them; at any rate they would " get" three or 
four of them. Buck replied, " Gentlemen, I pledge you 
my word, my honor, and my life, that you will not be 
attacked between this and Virginia." 

The coach went on directly the horses were hitched up, 
and Buck commenced roaring out a song, without inter- 
mission, till at last he became tired, and then, at his re- 
quest, Ray took up the chorus. This was the signal to 
the other three to keep off. Had the song ceased, an 
attack would have been at once made; but, without go- 
ing into algebra, they were able to ascertain that such a 
venture had more peril than profit, and so they let it 
alone. The driver, Southmayde, and the young passen- 
ger were not sorry when they alighted safe in town. 
Ned Ray called on Southmayde and told him that if he 
knew who committed the robbery he should not tell, for 
that death would be his portion if he did, 



82 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

THE OPENING OF THE BALL — GEORGE IVES. 

They mustered in their simple dress, 
For wrongs to seek a stern redress. 

As a matter of course, after the failure of justice in 
the case of the murderers of Dillingham, the state of soci- 
ety, bad as it was, rapidly deteriorated, until a man could 
hardly venture to entertain a belief that he was safe for 
a single day. We have been repeatedly shown places 
where bullets used to come through the chinks between 
the logs separating one of the stores in town from a 
saloon. Wounded men lay almost unnoticed about the 
city, and a night or day without shooting, knifing or 
fighting would have been recognized as a small and wel- 
come instalment of the millennium. Men dared not go 
from Virginia to Nevada or Summit after dark. A few- 
out of the hundreds of instances must suffice. A Dutch- 
man, known as Dutch Fred, was met by one of the 
band, who ordered him to throw up his hands, as usual. 
Finding he had $5 in Treasury notes with him, the rob- 
ber told him he would take them at par, and added with 
a volley of curses, "If ever you come this w T ay w r ith only 

$5 I'll shoot you; you, I'll shoot you anyhow/' and 

raising his pistol he shot him in the arm. Another man 
was robbed of two or three dollars, about two or three 
miles below Nevada, and was told that if ever he came 
with as little money again they w r ould kill him. 

George Ives was a young man of rather prepossessing 
appearance, probably twenty-seven years old. His com- 
plexion and hair were light, and his eyes blue. He wore 
no whiskers. His height was nearly six feet, and he 
wore a soldier's overcoat and a light felt hat. The car- 
riage of this renowned desperado was sprightly, and his 
coolness was imperturbable. Long practice in confront- 
ing danger had made him absolutely fearless, He 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 83 

would face death with an indifference that had become 
constitutional, and the spirit of reckless bravado with 
which he was animated made him the terror of the citi- 
zens. He would levy blackmail under the guise of a 
loan and as a matter of sport, and to show the training 
of his horse he would back the animal into the windows 
of a store, and then ride off laughing. In looking at 
Ives a man would, at first sight, be favorably impressed; 
but a closer examination by any one skilled in physiog- 
nomy would detect in the lines of the mouth, and in the 
strange, fierce, and sinister gleam of the eye, the quick 
spirit which made him not only the terror of the com- 
munity, but the dread of the band of ruffians with whom 
he was associated. 

As before mentioned, he was with Henry Plummer 
when he started to rob Langford and Hauser; he as- 
sisted at the robbery of the coaches in October and No- 
vember, and, after that, he figured as a highwayman 
with Aleck Carter, down on Snake River, under the alias 
of Lewis. 

In company with a friend he visited his comrades, 
Hunter and Carter, at Brown's Gulch, and on their way 
back, among the hills which form, as it were, the picket 
line of the Ramshorn Mountains, the two met Anton M. 
Holter, now a citizen of Virginia. They politely invited 
him to replenish their exchequers by a draft on his own, 
which, under the circumstances, he instantly did; but 
he was able at the moment to honor only a small check. 
They read him a lecture upon the impropriety of travel- 
ling with so small a sum in his possession, and then, as 
an emphatic confirmation of their expressed displeasure, 
George drew his revolver, and, aiming at his head, sent 
a ball through his hat, grazing his scalp. A second 
shot, with more deliberate aim, was only prevented by 
the badness of the cap. After this failure, this u perfect 
gentleman" went his way, and so did Holter, doubtless 
blessing the cap-maker. 

Tex was a frequent companion of Ives, who was also 
intimate with Plummer, and George used frequently to 
show their letters, written in cipher, to unskilled, if not 



84 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

unsuspecting citizens. Ke spent a life of ceaseless and 
active wickedness up to the very day of his capture. 

Perhaps the most daring and cold-blooded of all his 
crimes was the murder which he committed near the 
Cold Spring Ranch. A man had been whipped for lar- 
ceny near Nevada, and to escape the sting of the lash 
he offered to give information about the road agents. 
Ives heard of it, and meeting him purposely between 
Virginia and Dempsey's, he deliberately fired at him 
with his double-barrelled gun. The gun was so badly 
loaded, and the man's coat so thickly padded that the 
buckshot did not take effect, upon which he coolly drew 
his revolver, and, talking to him all the time, shot him 
dead. This deed was perpetrated in broad daylight on 
a highway — a very Bloomingdale Road of the commu- 
nity — and yet, there, in plain view of Daley's and the 
Cold Spring Ranch, with two or three other teams in 
sight, he assassinated his victim in a cool and business- 
like manner, and when the murdered man had fallen 
from his horse, he took the animal by the bridle and led 
it off among the hills. 

Ives then went to George Hilderman and told him that 
he should like to stay at his wakiup for a few days, as he 
had killed a man near Cold Spring Ranch, and there 
might be some stir and excitement about it. 

In about half an hour after some travellers arrived at 
the scene of murder. The body was still warm, but 
lifeless, and some of the neighbors from the surround- 
ing ranches dug a lonely grave in the beautiful valley, 
and there, nameless, uncoffined and unwept, the poor 
victim, 

' ' Life's fitful fever over, 
Sleeps well." 

The passer-by may even now notice the solitary grave 
where he lies, marked as it still is by the upheaved earth, 
on the left side of the road as he goes down the valley, 
about a mile on the Virginia side of the Cold Spring 
Ranch. 

All along the route the ranchmen knew the road 



THE VIGILANTES OE MONTANA. 85 

agents, but the certainty of instant death in case they 
revealed what the}" knew enforced their silence, even 
when they were really desirous of giving information or 
warning. 

Nicholas Tbalt had sold a span of mules to his em- 
ployers, Butschy & Clark, who paid him the money. 
Taking the gold with him, he went to Dempsey's Ranch 
to bring up the animals. Not returning for some time, 
they concluded that he had run away with the mules, 
and were greatly grieved that a person they had trusted 
so implicitly should deceive them. They were, however, 
mistaken. Faithful to his trust, he had gone for the 
mules, and met his death from the hand of George Ives, 
who shot him, robbed him of his money, and stole his 
mules. Ives first accused Long John of the deed; but he 
was innocent of it, as was also Hilderman, who was a 
petty thief and hider, but neither murderer nor road 
agent. His gastronomic feats at Bannack had procured 
him the name, the American Pie-Eater. Ives contra- 
dicted himself at his execution, stating that Aleck Carter 
was the murderer; but in this he wronged his own soul. 
His was the bloody hand that committed the crime. 
Long John said, on his examination at the trial, that he 
did not see the shots fired, but that he saw Nicholas 
coming w T ith the mules, and George Ives going to meet 
him; that Ives rode up shortly after with the mules, and 
said that the Dutchman would never trouble anybody 
again. 

The body of the slaughtered young man lay frozen, 
stiff and stark, among the sage brush,- whither it had 
been dragged, unseen of man; but the eye of Omni- 
science rested on the blood-stained corpse, and the fiat of 
the Eternal Judge ordered the wild bird of the moun- 
tains to point out the spot, and, by a miracle, to reveal 
the crime. It was the finger of God that indicated the 
scene of the assassination, and it was His will stirring in 
the hearts of the honest and indignant gazerb on the 
ghastly remains of Tbalt that organized the party which, 
though not then formally enrolled as a Vigilance Com- 
mittee, was the nucleus and embryo of the order — the 



86 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

germ from which sprang that goodly tree, under the 
shadow of whose wide-spreading branches the citizens 
of Montana can lie down and sleep in peace. 

Nicholas Tbalt was brought into Nevada on a wagon, 
after being missing for ten days. William Herren came 
to Virginia and informed Tom Baume, who at once went 
down to where the body lay. The head had been pierced 
by a ball, which had entered just over the left eye. On 
searching the clothes of the victim, he found in his pocket 
a knife which he had lent him in Washington Gulch, 
Colorado, two years before, in presence of J. X. Beidler 
and William Clark. 

The marks of a small lariat were on the dead man's 
wrists and neck. He had been dragged through the 
brush, while living, after being shot, and when found lay 
on his face, his right arm bent across his chest and his 
left grasping the willows above him. 

William Palmer was coming across the Stinkingwater 
Valley, near the scene of the murder, ahead of his wagon, 
with his shot-gun on his shoulder. A grouse rose in 
front of him, and he fired. The bird dropped dead on 
the body of Tbalt. On finding the grouse on the body, 
he went down to the wakiup, about a quarter of a mile 
below the scene of the murder, and seeing Long John 
and*George Hilderman there, he told them that there 
was the body of a dead man above, and asked them if 
they would help him to put the corpse into his wagon, 
and that he would take it to town, and see if it could be 
identified. They said "No; that is nothing. They kill 
people in Virginia every day, and there's nothing said 
about it, and we want to have nothing to do with it." 

The man lay for half a day exposed in the wagon, after 
being brought up to Nevada. Elk Morse, William Clark 
and Tom Baume got a coffin made for him; took him up 
to the burying-ground above Nevada; interred him de- 
cently, and, at the foot of the grave, a crotched stick was 
placed, which is, we believe, still standing. 

The indignation of the people was excited by the spec- 
tacle. The same afternoon three or four of the citizens 
raised twenty-five men, and left Nevada at 10 p.m. The 



THE VIGILANTES OE MONTANA, 87 

party subscribed an obligation before starting, binding 
them to mutual support, etc., and then travelled on, with 
silence and speed, towards the valley of the Stinkingwater. 
Calling at a ranch on their way, they obtained an acces- 
sion to their numbers, in the person of the man who 
eventually brought Ives to bay, after he had escaped from 
the guard who had him in charge. Several men were 
averse to taking him with them, not believing him to be 
a fit man for such an errand; but they were greatly mis- 
taken, for he was both honest and reliable, as they after- 
ward found. 

Avoiding the travelled road, the troop rode round 
by the bluff, so as to keep clear of Dempsey's Ranch. 
About six miles further on they called at a cabin, and 
got a guide, to pilot them to the rendezvous. 

At about half-past three in the morning they crossed 
Wisconsin Creek, at a point some seven miles below 
Dempsey's, and found that it was frozen, but that the 
ice was not strong enough to carry the weight of man 
and horse, and they went through one after another, at 
different points, some of the riders having to get down, 
in order to help their horses, emerging half drowned on 
the other side, and continuing their journey, cased in a 
suit of frozen clothes, which, as one of them observed, 
" stuck to them like death to a dead nigger." Even the 
irrepressible Tom Baume was obliged to take a sharp 
nip on his "quid," and to summon all his fortitude to 
his aid to face the cold of his ice-bound " rig." 

The leader called a halt about a mile further on, say- 
ing, " Every one light from his horse, hold him by the 
bridle, and make no noise till daybreak." Thus they 
stood motionless for an hour and a half. At the first 
peep of day the word was given, " Boys, mount your 
horses, and not a word pass, until we are in sight of the 
wakiup." They had not travelled far when a dog barked. 
Instantly they put spurs to their horses, and breaking to 
the right and left, formed the " surround," every man 
reining up with his shot-gun bearing on the wakiup. 
The leader jumped from his horse, and seeing eight or 
ten men sleeping on the ground in front of the structure, 



88 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

all wrapped up in blankets, sang out, " The first man that 
raises will get a quart of buckshot in him, before he can 
say Jack Robinson." It was too dark to see who they 
were, so he went on to the wakiup, leaving his horse in 
charge of one of the party, half of whom had dismounted 
and the others held the horses, "Is Long John here?" 
he asked. " Yes," said that longitudinal individual. 
"Come out here; I want you." * Well," said he, "I 
guess I know what you want me for." " Probably you 
do; but hurry up; we have got no time to lose." "Well," 
said John, " wait till I get my moccasins on, won't you ?" 
" Be quick about it, then," observed his captor. Imme- 
diately after he came out of the wakiup, and they waited 
about half an hour before it was light enough to see dis- 
tinctly. The captain took four of his men and Long 
John, and walked to the place w T here the murder had 
been committed, leaving the remainder of the troop in 
charge of the other men. They went up to the spot, and 
there Long John was charged with the murder. Palmer 
showed the position in which the body was found. He 
said, " I did not do it, boys." He was told that his blood 
w r ould be held answerable for that of Nicholas Tbalt; for 
that, if he had not killed him, he knew well who had done 
it, and had refused to help to put his body into a wagon. 
"Long John," said one of the men, handling his pistol 
as he spoke, "you had better prepare for another 
world." The leader stepped between and said, "This 
won't do; if there is anything to be done, let us all be to- 
gether." Long John was taken aside by three of the 
men, and sat down. They looked up, and there, in the 
faint light — about a quarter of a mile off — stood Black 
Bess, the mule bought by X. Beidler in Washington 
Gulch. Pointing to the animal, they said, "John, whose 
mule is that ?" -' That's the mule that Nick rode down 
here," he answered. "You know whose mule that is, 
John. Things look dark. You had better be thinking 
of something else now." The mule was sent for, and 
brought before him/ and he was asked where the other 
two mules were. He said he did not know. He was told 
that he had better look out for another world, for that 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 89 

he was played out in this. He said, "I did not commit 
that crime. If you give me a chance, I'll clear myself." 
"John," said the leader, "you never can do it; for you 
knew of a man lying dead for nine days, close to your 
house, and never reported his murder; and you deserve 
hanging for that. Why didn't you come to Virginia and 
tell the people?" He replied that he was afraid and 
dared not do it. "Afraid of what?" asked the captain. 
"Afraid of the men round here." "Who are they ?" "I 
dare not tell who they are. There's one of them round 
here." "Where?" "There's one of them here at the 
wakiup, that killed Nick." "Who is he?" "George 
Ives." "Is he down at the wakiup?" "Yes." "You 
men stand here and keep watch over John, and I'll go 
down." Saying this he walked to the camp. 

On arriving at the wakiup, he paused, and picking out 
the man answering to the description of George Ives, he 
asked him, "Is your name George Ives?" "Yes," said 
that worthy. "I want you," was the laconic reply. 
"What do you want me f or ?" was the natural query. 
" To go to Virginia City," was the direct but unpleasing 
rejoinder. " All right," said George, " I expect I have 
to go." He was at once given in charge of the guard. 

So innocent were some of the troop, that they had 
adopted the " Perfect gentleman" hypothesis, and laid 
down their arms in anger at the arrest of this murder- 
ous villain. A little experience prevented any similar ex- 
hibition of such a weakness in the future. 

Two of the party went over to Tex, who was engaged 
in the highly necessary operation of changing his shirt. 
"I believe we shall want you too," said one of them; Tex 
denuded himself of his under garment, and throwing it 
towards Tom Baume, exclaimed, " There's my old shirt 
and plenty of greybacks. You'd better arrest them too." 
He was politely informed that he himself, but neither 
the shirt nor its population, was the object of this " un- 
constitutional restraint," and was asked if the pistols 
lying on the ground were his, which he admitted, and 
was thereupon told that they were wanted, also, and that 
he must consider himself " under arrest" — a technical 



90 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

yet simple formula adopted by mountaineers, to assure 
the individual addressed that his brains will, without 
further warning, be blown out, if he should attempt to 
make a " break." Tex dressed himself and awaited 
further developments. 

There appeared to be a belief on the part of both Tex 
and Ives that they should get off; but when they saw the 
party with Long John, they appeared cast down, and 
said no more. 

The other men who were lying round the wakiup, 
when the scouting party rode up, were Aleck Carter, 
Bob Zachary, Whiskey Bill, Johnny Cooper, and two in- 
nocent strangers, w T hose prolonged tenure of life can only 
be accounted for by the knowledge of the circumstance 
that they were without money at the time. Of the fact 
of the connection of the others with the band the boys 
were ignorant, and were drinking coffee with them, lay- 
ing down their guns within the reach of the robbers, on 
their bedclothes. Had the road agents possessed the 
nerve to make the experiment, they could have blown 
them to pieces. One of the party, pointing to Aleck 
Carter, said to the leader, " There's one good man among 
them, any way. I knew him on the ' other side,' " (west 
of the mountains). The captain's view of the state of 
things was not altered by this flattering notice. He 
sang out, in a tone of voice that signified " something's 
up," " Every man take his gun and keep it." In after 
expeditions he had no need to repeat the command. 
Five men were sent into the wakiup, and the rest stood 
round it. The result of their search was the capture of 
s.even dragoon and navy revolvers, nine shot-guns and 
thirteen rifles. These were brought out, and in laying 
them down one of them went off close to Tom Baume's 
head. Leroy Southmayde's pistol — taken from him at 
the time of the robbery of the coach — was one of the 
weapons. It was recognized at the trial of Ives, by the 
number upon it. About half an inch of the muzzle had 
been broken off, and it had then been fixed up smoothly. 

All being now ready, the party started for Dempsey's, 
and George, who was mounted on his spotted bob-tailed 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. Ql 

pony, went along with them. He had determined to 
escape, and in order to carry out his design he expressed 
a wish to try the speed of his horse against the others, 
and challenged several to race with him. This was fool- 
ishly permitted, and, but for the accidental frustration 
of his design to procure a remount of unsurpassed speed, 
a score of names might have been added to the long list 
of his murdered victims. 

At Dempsey's Ranch there was a bridge in course of 
construction, and two of the men riding ahead saw 
George Hilderman, standing on the centre, at work. He 
was asked if his name was George Hilderman, and re- 
plied " Yes," whereupon he was informed that he was 
wanted to go up to Virginia City. He inquired whether 
they had any papers for him, and being told that they had 
not any, he declared that he would not leave the spot; 
but the leader coming up, told him to go " without any 
foolishness," in a manner that satisfied him of the inutil- 
ity of resistance, and he prepared to accompany them; 
but not as a volunteer, by any means. He said he had 
no horse. Tom Baume offered him a mule. Then he 
had no saddle. The same kind friend found one, and he 
had to ride with them. His final effort was couched in 
the form of a declaration that the beast would not go. A 
stick was lying on the ground, and he received an in- 
struction, as the conventions word it, either to "whip 
end ride," or " walk and drive." This, practically speak- 
ing, reconciled him to the breach of the provisions of 
Magna Charta and the Bill of Rights involved in his ar- 
rest, and he jogged along, if not comfortably, yet, at all 
events, in peace. 

In the mean time, the arch villain in custody of the main 
body was playing his role with much skill and with com- 
plete success. He declared his entire innocence of the 
awful crime with which he was charged, and rather insin- 
uated than expressed his wish that he might be taken 
to Virginia, where his friends were, and that he might 
be tried by civil authorities (Plummer to empanel the 
jury), and incidentally remarked that he should not like 
to be tried at Nevada, for that he once killed a dog there 



g2 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

which had scared his horse, and for that reason they had 
prejudices against him, which might work him serious 
injury in the event of his trial at that place. 

There is no doubt that the seeming alacrity with which 
he apparently yielded to the persuasions of his captors 
threw them off their guard, and he was permitted to 
ride unarmed, but otherwise unrestrained, along with 
the escort. 

So large a troop of horsemen never yet rode together 
mounted on fleet cayuses, on the magnificent natural 
roads of Montana, without yielding to the temptation 
presented to try the comparative merits of their horses, 
and our company of partisan police were no exception 
to this rule. Scrub races were the order of the day, 
until, in one of them, Geo. Ives, who was the winner, 
attracted the attention of the whole party, by continuing 
his race at the top of his horse's speed; but not until he 
was at least ten rods ahead of the foremost rider, did the 
guard (?) realize the fact that the bird had flown from 
the open cage. Twenty-four pairs of spurs were driven 
home into the flanks of twenty-four horses, and with a 
clatter of hoofs never since equalled on that road, ex- 
cept when the deluded cavalry of Virginia rode down 
the valley 

" To see the savage fray," 

or at the inception given to the Hon. J. M. Ashley and 
party, they swept on like a headlong rout. 

For a while, the fugitive gained gradually, but surely, 
on his pursuers, heading for Daley's Ranch, where his 
own fleet and favorite mare was standing bridled and 
saddled, ready for his use (so quickly did intelligence 
fly in those days). Fortune, however, declared against 
the robber. He was too hotly pursued to be able to avail 
himself of the chance. His pursuers seeing a fresh horse 
from Virginia and a mule standing there, leaped on their 
backs and continued the chase. Ives turned his horses's 
head towards the mountains round Bivens's Gulch, and 
across the plain, in that race for life, straining every 
nerve, flew the representatives of crime and justice, 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 93 

Three miles more had been passed, when the robber 
found that his horse's strength was failing, and every 
stride diminishing. The steeds of Wilson and Burtchey 
were in no better condition; but the use of arms might 
now decide the race, and springing from his horse, he 
dashed down a friendly ravine, whose rocky and boulder- 
strewn sides might offer some refuge from his relentless 
foes. Quick as thought, the saddles of his pursuers were 
empty, and the trial of speed was now to be continued 
on foot. On arriving at the edge of the ravine Ives was 
not visible; but it was evident that he must be concealed 
within a short distance. Burtchey quickly " surrounded " 
the spot, and sure enough, there was Ives crouching be- 
hind a rock. Drawing a bead on him, Burtchey com- 
manded him to come forth and with a light and careless 
laugh he obeyed. The wily Bohemian was far too astute, 
however, to be thus overreached, and before Ives could 
get near enough to master his gun, a stern order to 
" stand fast" destroyed his last hope, and he remained 
motionless until assistance arrived, in the person of 
Wilson. 

Two hours had elapsed between the time of the escape 
and the recapture and return of the prisoner. A propo- 
sition was made to the captain to raise a pole and hang 
him there, but this was negatived. After gayly chatting 
with the boys, and treating them, the word was given to 
" Mount," and in the centre of a hollow square Ives began 
to realize his desperate situation. 

Tidings of the capture flew fast and far. Through 
every nook and dell of the inhabited parts of the Terri- 
tory, wildly and widely spread the news. Johnny Gib- 
bons, who afterward made such sly and rapid tracks for 
Utah, haunted with visions of vigilance committees, joined 
the party before they reached the canyon at Alder Creek, 
and accompanied them to Nevada. At that time he was 
a part owner of the Cottonwood Ranch (Dempsey's), 
and kept the band well informed of all persons who 
passed with large sums of money. 

The sun had sunk behind the hills when the detach- 
ment reached Nevada, on the evening of the i8th of 



94 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

December, and a discussion arose upon the question 
whether they should bring Ives to Virginia, or detain 
him for the night at Nevada. The "conservatives" and 
" radicals" had a long argument developing an " irre- 
pressible conflict;" but the radicals, on a vote, carried 
their point — rejecting Johnny Gibbon's suffrage on the 
ground of mixed blood. It was thereupon determined 
to keep Ives at Nevada until morning, and then to de- 
termine the place of trial. 

The prisoners were separated and chained. A strong 
guard was posted inside and outside of the house, and 
the night came and went without developing anything 
remarkable. But all that weary night, a " solitary horse- 
man might have been seen" galloping along the road at 
topmost speed, with frequent relays of horses, on his 
way to Bannack City. This was Lieut. George Lane 
alias Club-Foot, who was sent with news of the high- 
handed outrage that was being perpetrated in defiance 
of law, and with no regard whatever to the constituted 
authorities. He was also instructed to suggest that 
Plummer should come forthwith to Nevada, demand 
the culprit for the civil authorities, enforce that demand 
by what is as fitly called hocus pocus as habeas corpus, and 
see that he had a fair (?) trial. 

As soon as it was determined that Ives should remain 
at Nevada Gibbons dashed up the street to Virginia, 
meeting a lawyer or two on the way — 

" Where the carrion is, there will the vultures," etc. 

At the California Exchange, Gibbons found Messrs. 
Smith and Ritchie, and a consultation between client, 
attorney and proch ein ami, resulted in Lane's mission 
to Bannack, as one piece of strategy that faintly prom- 
ised the hope for rewards. All of Ives's friends were 
notified to be at Nevada early the next morning. 

The forenoon of the 19th saw the still swelling tide of 
miners, merchants and artisans wending their way to 
Nevada, and all the morning was spent in private exami- 
nations of the prisoners, and private consultations as to 
the best method of trial Friends of the accused were 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 95 

found in all classes of society; many of them were assid- 
uously at work to create a sentiment in his favor, while a 
large multitude were there, suspicious that the right man 
had been caught; and resolved, if such should prove to 
be the case, that no loophole of escape should be found 
for him, in any technical form of the law. 

Although on the eve of " Forefathers' Day," there was 
in the atmosphere the mildness and the serenity of Oc- 
tober. There was no snow and but little ice along the 
edges of sluggish streams; but the sun, bright and genial, 
warmed the clear air, and even thaw T ed out the congealed 
mud in the middle of the streets. Little boys were at 
play in the streets, and fifteen hundred men stood in 
them, impatient for action, but waiting without a mur- 
mur, in order that everything might be done decently 
and in order. 

Messrs. Smith, Ritchie, Thurmond and Colonel Wood 
were Ives's lawyers, with whom was associated Mr. Alex. 
Davis, then a comparative stranger in Montana. 

Col. W. F. Sanders, at that time residing at Bannack 
City, but temporarily sojourning at Virginia, was sent 
for to conduct the prosecution, and Hon. Charles S. Bagg 
was appointed his colleague, at the request of Judge 
Wilson, Mr. Bagg being a miner, and then little known. 

In settling upon the mode of trial, much difference of 
opinion was developed; but the miners finally deter- 
mined that it should be held in presence of the whole 
body of citizens, and reserved to themselves the ultimate 
decision of all questions; but lest something should es- 
cape their attention, and injustice thereby be done to 
the public, or to the prisoner, a delegation composed of 
twelve men from each district (Nevada and Junction) was 
appointed to hear the proof, and to act as an advisory 
jury. W. H. Patton, of Nevada, and W. Y. Pemberton, 
of Virginia, were appointed amanuenses. An attempt 
to get on the jury twelve men from Virginia was de- 
feated, and, late in the afternoon, the trial began and 
continued till nightfall. The three prisoners, George 
Ives, George Hilderman and Long John (John Franck) 
were chained with the lightest logging chain that could 



g6 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

be found — this was wound round their legs, and the links 
were secured with padlocks. 

In introducing testimony for the people, on the morn- 
ing of the 21st, the miners informed all concerned that 
the trial must close at three p.m. The announcement 
was received with great satisfaction. 

It is unnecessary to describe the trial, or to recapitulate 
the evidence. Suffice it to say that two alibis, based on 
the testimony of George Brown and honest Whiskey 
Joe, failed altogether. Among the lawyers, there was, 
doubtless, the usual amount of brow-beating and tech- 
nical insolence, intermingled with displays of eloquence 
and learning; but not the rhetoric of Blair, the learning 
of Coke, the metaphysics of Alexander, the wit of Jer- 
rold, or the odor of Oberlin, could dull the perceptions 
of those hardy mountaineers, or mislead them from the 
stern and righteous purpose of all this labor, which was 
to secure immunity to the persons and property of the 
community, and to guarantee a like protection to those 
who should cast their lot in Montana in time to come. 

The evidence was not confined to the charge of mur- 
der; but showed, also, that Ives had been acting in the 
character of a robber, as w T ell as that of a murderer; and 
it may well be doubted whether he would have been con- 
victed at all, if developments damaging to the reputa- 
tions and dangerous to the existence of some of his 
friends had not been made during the trial, on which 
they absented themselves mysteriously, and have never 
been seen since. There was an instinctive and unerring 
conviction that the worst man in the community was on 
trial; but it was hard work, after all the proof and all 
this feeling, to convict him. 

Prepossessing in his appearance; brave beyond a 
doubt; affable in his manners; jolly and free among his 
comrades, and with thousands of dollars at his com- 
mand; bad and good men alike working upon the feel- 
ing of the community, when they could not disturb its 
judgment — it seemed, at times, that all the labor was to 
end in disastrous failure. 

The crowd which gathered around that fire in front of 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 97 

the court is vividly before our eyes. We see the wagon 
containing the Judge, and an advocate pleading with all 
his earnestness and eloquence for the dauntless robber, 
on whose unmoved features no shade of despondency 
can be traced by the fitful glare of the blazing wood, 
which lights up, at the same time, the stern and impas- 
sive features of the guard, who, in every kind of habili- 
ments, stand in various attitudes, in a circle surrounding 
the scene of justice. The attentive faces and compressed 
lips of the jurors show their sense of the vast responsi- 
bility that rests upon them, and of their firm resolve to 
do their duty. Ever and anon a brighter flash than ordi- 
nary reveals the expectant crowd of miners, thoughtfully 
and steadily gazing on the scene, and listening intently 
to the trial. Beyond this close phalanx, fretting and 
shifting around its outer edge, sways with quick and 
uncertain motion the wavering line of desperadoes and 
sympathizers with the criminal; their haggard, wild and 
alarmed countenances showing too plainly that they trem- 
ble at the issue which is, when decided, to drive them in 
exile from Montana, or to proclaim them as associate 
criminals, whose fate could neither be delayed nor du- 
bious. A sight like this will ne'er be seen again in Mon- 
tana. It was the crisis of the fate of the Territory. Xor 
was the position of prosecutor, guard, juror or Judge, 
one that any but a brave and law-abiding citizen would 
choose, or even accept. Marked for slaughter by des- 
peradoes, these men staked their lives for the welfare of 
society. A mortal strife between Colonel Sanders and 
one of the opposing lawyers was only prevented by the 
prompt action of wise men, who corralled the combatants 
on their way to fight. The hero of that hour of trial was 
avowedly W. F. Sanders. Not a desperado present but 
would have felt honored by becoming his murderer, and 
yet, fearless as a lion, he stood there confronting and 
defying the malice of his armed adversaries. The citi- 
zens of Montana, many of them his bitter political oppo- 
nents, recollect his actions with gratitude and kindly 
feeling. Charles S. Bagg is also remembered as having 
been at his post when the storm blew loudest. 



98 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

The argument of the case having terminated, the issue 
was, in the first place, left to the decision of the twenty- 
four who had been selected for that purpose, and they 
thereupon retired to consult. 

Judge Byam, who shouldered the responsibility of the 
whole proceeding, will never be forgotten by those in 
whose behalf he courted certain, deadly peril, and proba- 
ble death. 

The jury were absent, deliberating on their verdict, 
but little less than half an hour, and on their return, 
twenty-three made a report that Ives was proven guilty ; 
but one member — Henry Spivey — declined to give in any 
finding, for unknown reasons. 

The crisis of the affair had now arrived. A motion 
was made, " That the report of the committee be re- 
ceived, and it discharged from further consideration of 
that case," wmich Mr. Thurmond opposed ; but upon 
explanation, deferred pressing his objections until the 
motion should be made to adopt the report, and to ac- 
cept the verdict of the committee as the judgment of the 
people there assembled ; and thus the first formal 
motion passed without opposition. 

Before this, some of the crowd were clamorous for an 
adjournment, and now Ives's friends renewed the at- 
tempt ; but it met with signal failure. 

Another motion, " That the assembly adopt as their 
verdict the report of the committee," w T as made, and 
called forth the irrepressible and indefatigable Thur- 
mond and Col. J. M. Wood ; but it carried, there being 
probably not more than one hundred votes against it. 

Here it was supposed by many that the proceedings 
would end for the present, and that the court would ad- 
journ until the morrow, as it was already dark. Col. 
Sanders, however, mounted the wagon, and having 
recited that Ives had been declared a murderer and 
a robber by the people there assembled, moved, " That 
George Ives be forthwith hung by the neck until he is 
dead" — a bold and business-like movement which ex- 
cited feeble opposition, was carried before the defendant 
seemed to realize the situation ; but a. friend or two and 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 99 

some old acquaintances having gained admission to the 
circle within which Ives was guarded, to bid him fare- 
well, awakened him to a sense of the condition in which 
he was placed, and culprit and counsel sought to defer 
the execution. Some of his ardent counsel shed tears, 
of which lachrymose effusions it is well to say no more 
than that they were copious. The vision of a long and 
scaly creature, inhabiting the Nile, rises before us in 
connection with this aqueous sympathy for an assassin. 
Quite a number of his old chums were, as Petroleum V. 
N T asby says, " weeping profoosly." Then came moving 
efforts to have the matter postponed until the coming 
morning, Ives giving assurances, upon his honor, that 
no attempt at rescue or escape would be made ; but 
already Davis and Hereford were seeking a favorable 
spot for the execution. 

Our Legislative Assembly seem to have forgotten that 
Mr. A. B. Davis had any of these arduous labors to per- 
form, but none who were present will ever forget the 
fearless activity which he displayed all through those 
trials. A differently constituted body may vet sit in 
Montana, and vote him his five hundred dollars. 

The appeals made by Ives and Thurmond for a delay 
of the execution were such as human weakness cannot 
well resist. It is most painful to be compelled to deny 
even a day's brief space, during which the criminal may 
write to mother and sister, and receive for himself such 
religious consolation as the most hardened desire, under 
such circumstances ; but that body of men had come 
there deeply moved by repeated murders and robberies, 
and meant " business.'' The history of former trials was 
there more freshly and more deeply impressed upon the 
minds of men than it is now, and the result of indecision 
was before their eyes. The most touching appeal 
from Ives, as he held the hand of Col. Sanders, lost its 
force when met by the witheringly sarcastic request of 
one of the crowd, " Ask him how long a time he gave the 
Dutchman." Letters were dictated by him and written 
by Thurmond. His will was made, in which the law- 
yers and his chums in iniquity were about equally re- 



IOO THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

membered, to the entire exclusion of his mother and sis- 
ters in Wisconsin. Whether or not it was a time for 
tears, it was assuredly a time of tears ; but neither weak- 
ness nor remorse moistened the eyes of Ives. He seemed 
neither haughty nor yet subdued ; in fact, he was ex- 
actly imperturbable. From a place not more than ten 
yards from where he sat during the trial he was led to 
execution. 

The prisoner had repeatedly declared that he would 
never " die in his boots," and he asked the sergeant of 
the guard for a pair of moccasins, which were given to 
him ; but after a while he seemed to be chilled and re- 
quested that his boots might again be put on. Thus 
George Ives " died in his boots." 

During the whole trial, the doubting, trembling, des- 
perate friends of Ives exhausted human ingenuity to 
devise methods for his escape, trying intimidation, weak 
appeals to sympathy, and ever and anon exhibiting their 
abiding faith in " Nice, sharp quillets of the law." All 
the time the roughs awaited with a suspense of hourly 
increasing painfulness the arrival of their boasted chief, 
who had so long and so successfully sustained the three" 
inimical characters of friend of their clan, friend of the 
people, and guardian of the laws. 

Not more anxiously did the great captain at Waterloo 
sigh for " Night or Blucher" than did they for Plummer. 
But, relying upon him, they deferred all other expedi- 
ents ; and when the dreaded end came, as come it must, 
they felt that the tide in the affairs of villains had not 
been taken at its flood, and not without a struggle they 
yielded to the inevitable logic of events, and because 
they could not help it they gave their loved companion 
to the gallows. 

Up to the very hour at which he was hanged they were 
confident of Plummer's arrival in time to save him. But 
events were transpiring throughout the Territory which 
produced intense excitement, and rumor on her thousand 
wings was ubiquitous in her journeying on absurd 
errands. 

Before Lane reached Bannack news of Ives's arrest 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 101 

had reached there, with the further story that the men 
of Alder Gulch were wild with excitement, and ungov- 
ernable from passion ; that a vigilance committee had 
been formed ; a number of the best citizens hanged, and 
that from three hundred to five hundred men were on 
their way to Bannack City to hang Plummer, Ray, Stin- 
son, George Chrisman, A. J. McDonald and others. 
This last "bulletin from the front" was probably the off- 
spring of Piummer's brain. It is also likely that Lane 
and perhaps Ray and Stinson helped in the hatching of 
the story. Suffice it to say that Plummer told it often, 
shedding crocodile tears that such horrible designs ex- 
isted in the minds of any as the death of his, as yet, 
unrobbed friends, Chrisman, McDonald and Pitt. 

His was a most unctuous sorrow, intended at that 
crisis to be seen of men in Bannack, and quite a number 
of the good citizens clubbed together to defend each 
other from the contemplated assault, the precise hour 
for which Piummer's detectives had learned, and all 
night long many kept watch and ward to give the at- 
tacking party a warm reception. 

There is no doubt that Plummer believed that such a 
body of men were on their way to Bannack City after 
him, Ray, Stinson and company. The coupling of the 
other names with theirs was his own work, and was an 
excellent tribute paid in a back-handed way to their in- 
tegrity and high standing in the community. 

11 Conscience doth make cowards of all." 

and Lane found Plummer anxious to look after his own 
safety rather than that of George Ives. 

The rumors carried day by day from the trial to the 
band in different parts of the Territory were surprising 
in their exactness, and in the celerity with which they 
were carried; but they were changed in each community 
by those most interested into forms best suited to sub- 
serve the purposes of the robbers; and, in this way, did 
they beguile into sympathy with them and their misfor- 
tunes many fair, honest men. 



102 THE VIGILANTES 0E MONTANA. 

Ives's trial for murder, though not the first in the Ter- 
ritory, differed from any that had preceded it. 

Before this memorable day citizens, in the presence of 
a well-disciplined and numerous band of desperadoes, 
had spoken of their atrocities with bated breath; and 
witnesses upon their trial had testified in whispering 
humbleness. Prosecuting lawyers, too, had in their ar- 
guments often startled the public with such novel propo- 
sitions as, " Now, gentlemen, you have heard the wit- 
nesses, and it is for you to say whether the defendant is 
or is not guilty; if he is guilty you should say so, but if 
not, you ought to acquit him. I leave this with you, to 
whom it rightfully belongs." But the counsel for the 
defence were, at least, guiltless of uttering these last 
platitudes; for a vigorous defence hurt ho one and won 
hosts of friends — of a certain kind. But on Ives's trial 
there was given forth no uncertain sound. Robbery 
and honesty locked horns for the mastery, each strug- 
gling for empire; and each stood by his banner until 
the contest ended — fully convinced of the importance of 
victory. Judge Byam remained by the prisoner from 
the time judgment was given, and gave all the necessary 
directions for carrying it into effect. Robert Hereford 
was the executive officer. 

An unfinished house, having only the side-walls up, 
was chosen as the best place near at hand for carrying 
into effect the sentence of death. The preparations, 
though entirely sufficient, were both simple and brief. 
The butt of a forty-foot pole was planted inside the 
house at the foot of one of the walls, and the stick leaned 
over a cross beam. Near the point was tied the fatal 
cord, with the open noose dangling fearfully at its lower 
end. A large goods box was the platform. The night 
had closed in w r ith a bright, full moon, and around that 
altar of vengeance the stern and resolute faces of the 
guard were visible under all circumstances of light and 
shade conceivable. Unmistakable determination was 
expressed in every line of their bronzed and weather- 
beaten countenances. 

George Ives was led to the scaffold in fifty-eight min- 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 103 

utes from the time that his doom was fixed. A perfect 
babel of voices saluted the movement. Every roof was 
covered, and cries of " Hang him !" " Don't hang him !" 

" Banish him!" "I'll shoot!" " their murdering 

souls !" " Let's hang Long John !" were heard all 
around. The revolvers could be seen flashing in the 
moonlight. The guard stood like a rock. They had 
heard the muttered threats of a rescue from the crowd, 
and with grim firmness — the characteristic of the miners 
when they mean " business " — they stood ready to beat 
them back. Woe to the mob that should surge against 
that living bulwark. They would have fallen as grass 
before the scythe. 

As the prisoner stepped on to the fatal platform, the 
noise ceased, and the stillness became painful. The 
rope was adjusted, and the usual request was made as 
to whether he had anything to say. With a firm voice 
he replied, "I am innocent of this crime; Aleck Carter 
killed the Dutchman." 

The strong emphasis on the word " this* convinced 
ail around that he meant his words to convey the im- 
pression that he was guilty of other crimes. Up to this 
moment he had always accused Long John of the mur- 
der. 

Ives expressed a wish to see Long John, and the crowd 
of sympathizers yelled in approbation; but the request 
was denied, for an attempt at a rescue was expected. 

All being ready, the word was given to the guard, 
"Men, do your duty." The click of the locks rang 
sharply, and the pieces flashed in the moonlight as they 
came to the " aim." The box flew from under the mur- 
derer's feet with a crash, and George Ives swung in the 
night breeze, facing the pale moon that lighted up the 
scene of retributive justice. 

As the vengeful click ! click ! of the locks sounded 
their note of deadly warning to the intended rescuers, 
the crowd stampeded in wild affright, rolling over one 
another in heaps, shrieking and howling with terror. 

When the drop fell, the Judge, who was standing close 
beside Ives, called out, u His neck is broken; he is dead." 



104 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

This announcement and the certainty of its truth — for 
the prisoner never moved a limb — convinced the few 
resolute desperadoes who knew not fear that the case 
was hopeless, and they retired with grinding teeth and 
with muttered curses issuing from their lips. 

It is astonishing what a wonderful effect is produced 
upon an angry mob by the magic sound referred to. 
Hostile demonstrations are succeeded by a mad panic: 
rescuers turn their undivided attention to their own cor- 
poral salvation; eyes that gleamed with anger, rpll 
wildly with terror; the desire for slaughter gives way to 
the fear of death, and courage hands the craven fear his 
sceptre of command. When a double-barrelled shot-gun 
is pointed at a traveller by a desperado the feeling is 
equally intense; but its development is different. The 
organ of " acquisitiveness" is dormant; " combativeness" 
and " destructiveness" are inert; " caution" calls " be- 
nevolence" to do its duty; a very large lump rises into 
the wayfarer's throat; cold chills follow the downward 
course of the spine, and the value of money, as compared 
with that of bodily safety, instantly reaches the mini- 
mum point. Verily, "All that a man hath will he give 
for his life." We have often smiled at the fiery indigna- 
tion of the great untried when listening to their account 
of what they would have done if a couple of road agents 
ordered them to throw up their hands; but they failed 
to do anything towards convincing us that they would 
not have sent valor to the rear at the first onset, and ap- 
peared as the very living and breathing impersonations 
of discretion. We felt certain that were they "loaded! 
to the guards" with the gold dust, they would come out: 
of the scrape as poor as Lazarus, and as mild and insin- 
uating in demeanor as a Boston mamma with six mar- 
riageable daughters. 

At last the deed w T as done. The law-abiding among 
the citizens breathed more freely, and all felt that the 
worst man in the community was dead — that the neck of 
crime was broken, and that the reign of terror was ended. 

The body of Ives was left hanging for an hour. At 
the expiration of this period of time it was cut down, 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 105 

carried into a wheelbarrow shop, and laid out on a 
work bench. A guard was then placed over it till morn- 
ing, when the friends of the murderer had him decently 
interred. He lies in his narrow bed, near his victim — 
the murdered Tbalt — to await his final doom, when they 
shall stand face to face at the grand tribunal, where 
every man shall be rewarded according to his deeds. 

George Ives, though so renowned a desperado, was by 
no means an ancient practitioner in his profession. In 
1857-58 he worked as a miner, honestly and hard, in 
California, and though wild and reckless was not ac- 
cused of dishonesty. His first great venture in the line 
of robbery was the stealing of government mules, near 
Walla Walla. He was employed as herder, and used to 
report that certain of his charge were dead every time 
that a storm occurred. The officer of the post believed 
the story, and inquired no further. In this way George 
ran off quite a decent herd, with the aid of his friends. 
In Elk City he startled his old employer in the mines of 
California by riding his horse into his saloon, and when 
that gentleman seized the bridle, he drew his revolver, 
and would certainly have killed him, but fortunately he 
caught sight of the jace of his intended victim in time, 
and returning his pistol, he apologized for his conduct. 
When leaving the city he wished to present his splendid 
grey mare to his friend, who had for old acquaintance's 
sake supplied his wants; but the present, though often 
pressed upon this gentleman, was as often refused; for 
no protestations of Ives could convince him that the 
beautiful animal was fairly his property. He said that 
he earned it honestly by mining. His own account of 
the stealing of the government mules which we have 
given above was enough to settle that question defini- 
tively. It was from the " other side" that Ives came 
over to Montana — then a part of Idaho — and entered 
with full purpose upon the career which ended at Ne- 
vada so fatally and shamefully for himself, and so hap- 
pily for the people of this Territory. 

A short biographical sketch of lyes and of the rest of 
the gang will appear at the end of the present work. 



106 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

The trial of Hilderman was a short matter. He was 
defended by Judge (?) H. P. A. Smith. He had not been 
known as a very bad man; but was a weak and somewhat 
imbecile old fellow, reasonably honest in a strictly honest 
community, but easily led to hide the small treasure, 
keep the small secrets, and do the dirty work of strong- 
minded, self-willed, desperate men, whether willingly or 
through fear the trial did not absolutely determine. The 
testimony of Dr. Glick showed him to be rather cow- 
ardly and a great eater. He had known of the murder 
of Tbalt for some weeks, and had never divulged it. He 
was also cognizant of the murder near Cold Spring 
Ranch, and was sheltering and hiding the perpetrators. 
He had concealed the stolen mules too; but, in view of 
the disclosures made by many, after Ives was hung, and 
the power of the gang being broken, such disclosures did 
not so much damage men in the estimation of the honest 
mountaineer. Medical men were taken to wounded rob- 
bers to dress their wounds; they were told in what affray 
they were received, and the penalty of repeating the 
story to outsiders was sometimes told; but to others 
it was described by a silence more expressive than words. 
Other parties, too, came into possession of the knowl- 
edge of the tragedies enacted by them, from their own 
lips, and under circumstances rendering silence a seem- 
ing necessity. To be necessarily the repository of their 
dreadful secrets was no enviable position. Their espion- 
age upon every word uttered by the unfortunate acces- 
sary was offensive, and it was not a consolatory thought 
that, at any moment, his life might pay the penalty of 
any revelation he should make; and a person placed in 
such a " fix" was to some extent a hostage for the reti- 
cence of all who knew the same secret. 

If stronger-minded men than Hilderman could pretend 
to be, had kept secrets at the bidding of the road agents, 
and that too in the populous places, where there were 
surely some to defend them — it was argued that a weak- 
minded man, away from all neighbors, where by day and 
by night he could have been killed and hidden from all 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. IOJ 

human eyes, with perfect impunity — had some apology 
for obeying their behests. 

Mr. Smith's defence of Hilderman was rather credit- 
able to him. There was none of the braggadocio com- 
mon to such occasions, and the people — feeling that they 
had caught and executed a chief of the gang — felt kindly 
disposed towards the old man. 

Hilderman was banished from Montana, and was al- 
lowed ten days' time for the purpose of settling his affairs 
and leaving. When he arrived at Bannack City, Plum- 
mer told him not to go; but the old man took counsel of 
his fears, and comparing the agile and effeminate form 
of Plummer with those of the earnest mountaineers at 
Nevada, he concluded that he would rather bet on them 
than on Plummer, and being furnished by the latter 
with a pony and provisions, he left Montana forever. 

When found guilty and recommended to mercy, he 
dropped on his knees, exclaiming, " My God, is it so?" 

At the close of his trial he made a statement, wherein 
he confirmed nearly all Long John had said of Ives. 

Thus passed one of the crises which have arisen in this 
new community. The result demonstrated that when 
the good and law-abiding were banded together and all 
put forth their united strength, they were too strong for 
the lawlessness which was manifested when Ives was 
hung. 

It has generally been supposed and believed that 
Plummer was not present at the trial of Ives, or at his 
execution. We are bound, however, to state that Mr. 
Clinton, who kept a saloon in Nevada at the time, posi- 
tively asserts that he was in the room when Plummer 
took a drink there, a few minutes before the roughs made 
their rush at the fall of Ives, and that he went out and 
headed the mob in the effort which the determination of 
the guard rendered unsuccessful. 

Long John having turned states' evidence was set 
free, and we believe that he still remains in the Terri- 
tory. 

One thing was conclusively shown to all who witnessed 



108 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

the trial of Ives. If every road agent cost as much labor, 

time and money for his conviction, the efforts of the 
citizens would have, practically, failed altogether. Some 
shorter, surer, and at least equally equitable method of 
procedure was to be found. The necessity for this, and 
the trial of its efficiency when it was adopted, form the 
ground-work of this history. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE FORMATION OF THE VIGILANCE COMMITTEE. 

The land wants such 

As dare with vigor execute the laws, 

Her festered members must be lanced and tented; 

He's a bad surgeon that for pity spares 

The part corrupted till the gangrene spread, 

And all the body perish; he that is merciful 

Unto the bad, is cruel to the good. 

Those who have merely read the account given in 
these pages of the execution of Ives, can never fully 
appreciate the intense popular excitement that prevailed 
throughout the Territory during the stormy and critical 
period, or the imminent peril to which the principal ac- 
tors in the drama were exposed. As an instance of the 
desire for murder and revenge that animated the roughs, 
it may be stated that Col. Sanders was quietly reading 
in John Creighton's store, on the night of the execution 
of Ives, when a desperado named Harvey Meade — the 
individual who planned the seizure of a Federal vessel 
at San Francisco — walked into the room, with his re- 
volver stuck into the band of his pants, in front, and 
walking up to the Colonel, commenced abusing him and 

called him a , etc. Col. Sanders not having been 

constituted with a view to the exhibition of fear, con- 
tinued his reading, quietly slipping his hand out of his 
pocket in which lay a Derringer, and dropping it into 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 109 

his coat pocket, cocked his revolver as a preparative for 
a little shooting. Raising his eyes to the intruder, he 
observed, "Harvey, I should feel hurt if some men said 
this; but from such a dog as you it is not worth notic- 
ing." A doctor who was present laid his hand on a pick 
handle, and an " affair" seemed imminent; but John 
Creighton quietly walked up to the man and said, "You 
have to get out of here — quick!" All men fond of shoot- 
ing, otherwise than in self-defence, unless the}' take their 
victim at an advantage, never care to push matters to 
extremities, and Meade quietly walked off — foiled. He 
admitted afterwards to Sanders, that he had intended 
to kill him; but he professed a recent and not unaccount- 
able change of sentiment. 

All the prominent friends of justice were dogged, 
threatened and watched by the roughs; but their day 
was passing away, and the dawn of a better state of 
things was even then enlivening the gloom which over- 
spread society like a funeral pall. 

Two sister towns — Virginia and Nevada — claimed the 
honor of taking the first steps towards the formation of 
a Vigilance Committee. The truth is, that five men in 
Virginia and one in Nevada commenced simultaneously 
to take the initiative in the matter. Two days had not 
elapsed before their efforts were united, and when once 
a beginning had been made, the ramifications of the 
league of safety and order extended in a week or two ail 
over the Territory, and, on the 14th day of January, 1864, 
the coup de grace was given to the power of the band by 
the execution of five of the chief villains in Virginia 
City. The details of the rapid and masterly operations 
which occupied the few weeks immediately succeeding 
the execution of Ives, will appear in the following chap- 
ters. 

The reasons why the organization was so generally 
approved, and so numerously and powerfully supported, 
were such as appealed to the sympathies of all men who 
had anything to lose, or who thought their lives safer 
under the dominion of a body which, upon the whole, it 
must be admitted, has from the first acted with a wis- 



IIO THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA, 

dom, a justice and a vigor never surpassed on this con- 
tinent, and rarely, if ever, equalled. Merchants, miners, 
mechanics and professional men, alike, joined in the 
movement, until, within an incredibly short space of time, 
the road agents and their friends were in a state of con- 
stant and well-grounded fear, lest any remarks they 
might make confidentially to an acquaintance might be 
addressed to one who was a member of the much-dreaded 
Committee. 

The inhabitants of Virginia had especial cause to seek 
for vengeance upon the head of the blood-thirsty marau- 
ders who had, in addition to the atrocities previously 
recounted, planned and arranged the murder and robbery 
of as popular a man as ever struck the Territory — one 
whose praise was in all men's mouths, and who had left 
them, in the previous fall, with the intention of returning 
to solicit their suffrages, as well as those of the people 
of Lewiston and Western Idaho, as their delegate to 
Congress. His address, in the form of a circular, is still 
to be seen in the possession of a citizen of Nevada. 

Lloyd Magruder, to whom the above remarks have 
special reference, was a merchant of Lewiston, Idaho. 
He combined in his character so many good and even 
noble qualities, that he was one of the most generally 
esteemed and beloved men in the Territory, and no single 
act of villainy ever committed in the far West was more 
deeply felt, or provoked a stronger desire for retaliation 
upon the heads of the guilty perpetrators, than the mur- 
der and robbery of himself and party, on their journey 
homeward. 

In the summer of 1863, this unfortunate gentleman 
came to Virginia, with a large pack-train, laden with 
merchandise, selected with great judgment for the use of 
miners, and on his arrival, he opened a store on Wallace 
street, still pointed out as his place of business by " old 
inhabitants." 

Having disposed of his goods, from the sale of which 
he had realized about $14,000, he made arrangements for 
his return to Lewiston, by way of Elk City. This be- 
coming known, Plummer and his band held a council in 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. I 1 1 

Alder Gulch, and determined on the robbery and mur- 
der of Magruder, C. Allen, Horace and Robert Chalmers, 
and a Mr. Phillips, from the neighborhood of Marysville. 
During the debate, it was proposed that Steve Marshland 
should go on the expedition, along with Jem Romaine, 
Doc Howard, Billy Page, and a man called indifferently 
Bob or Bill Lowry. The programme included the mur- 
der of the five victims, and Marshland said he did not 
wish to go, as he could make money without murder. 
He was, he said, " on the rob, but not on the kill." Cyrus 
Skinner laughed at his notion, and observed that " dead 
men tell no tales." It was accordingly decided that the 
four miscreants above named should join the party and 
kill them all at some convenient place on the road. Ac- 
cordingly they offered their services to Magruder, who 
gave them a free passage and a fat mule each to ride, 
telling them that they could turn their lean horses along 
with the band. 

Charley Allen, it seems, had strong misgivings about 
the character of the ruffians, and told Magruder that the 
men would not harm him (Allen), as they were under 
obligations to him ; but they would, likely enough, try to 
rob Magruder. His caution was ineffectual, and Mr. 
McK. Dennee, we believe, fixed up for the trip the gold 
belonging to Magruder. 

It is a melancholy fact that information of the inten- 
tion of the murderers had reached the ears of more than 
one citizen ; but such was the terror of the road agents 
that they dared not tell any of the party. 

Having reached the mountain beyond Clearwater 
River, on their homeward journey, the stock was let out 
to graze on the slope, and Magruder, in company with 
Bill Lowry, went up to watch it. Seizing his opportu- 
nity, the ruffian murdered Magruder, and his confederates 
assassinated the four remaining in camp, while asleep. 
Romaine said to Phillips, when shooting him down, " You 

, I told you not to come." The villains having 

possessed themselves of the treasure, rolled up the 
bodies, baggage and arms, and threw them over a preci- 
pice. They then went on to Lewiston, avoiding Elk City 



112 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

on their route, where the first intimation of foul play 
was given by the sight of Magruder's mule, saddle, leg- 
gings, etc., in the possession of the robbers. Hill 
Beechey, the Deputy Marshal at Lewiston, and owner of 
the Luna House, noticed the cantinas filled with gold, 
and suspected something wrong, when they left by the 
coach for San Francisco. A man named Goodrich rec- 
ognized Page, when he came to ranch the animals with 
him. 

The murderers were closely muffled and tried to avoid 
notice. Beechey followed them right through to Cali- 
fornia, and there arrested them on the charge of murder- 
ing and robbing Magruder and his party. He found 
that they had changed their names at many places. 
Every possible obstacle was interposed that the forms of 
law allowed; but the gallant man fought through it all, 
and brought them back, on requisition of the Governor 
of Idaho, to Lewiston. Page turned state's evidence, 
and the men, who were closely guarded by Beechey all 
the time, in his own house, were convicted after a fair 
trial, and hanged. Romaine, who had been a barber, 
and afterward a bar-keeper, was a desperate villain. At 
the gallows, he said that there was a note in his pocket, 
which he did not wish to be read until he was dead. On 
opening it, it was found to contain a most beastly and 
insolent defiance of the citizens of Lewiston. Before he 

was swung off, he bade them " Launch their old 

boat," for it was "only a mud-scow, any way." 

A reconnoissance of the ground, in spring, discovered a 
few bones, some buttons from Magruder's coat, some 
fire-arms, etc. The coyotes had been too busy to leave 
much. 

Page, at the last advices, was still living at the Luna 
House. Even a short walk from home produces, it is 
said, a feeling of tightness about the throat, only to be 
relieved by going back in a hurry. He was not one of 
the original plotters, but not being troubled with too 
much sense, he was frightened into being a tool. 

The perpetration of this horrible outrage excited im- 
mense indignation, and helped effectually to pave the 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 113 

way for the advent of the Vigilantes. Reviewing the 
long and bloody lists of crimes against person and prop- 
erty, which last included several wholesale attempts at 
plunder of the stores in Virginia and Bannack, it was 
felt that the question was narrowed down to " kill or be 
killed." " Self-preservation is the first law of nature," 
and the mountaineers took the right side. We have to 
thank them for the peace and order which exist to-day 
in what are, by the concurrent testimony of all travellers, 
the best-regulated new mining camps in the West. 

The record of every villain who comes to Montana ar- 
rives with him, or before him; but no notice is taken of 
his previous conduct. If, however, he tries his hand at 
his trade in this region, he is sure of the reward of his 
crimes, and that on short notice; at least such is the 
popular belief. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE DEER LODGE SCOUT. 

The sleuthhound is upon the trail. 
Nor speed nor force shall aught avail. 

Almost instantly after the commencement of the 
organization of the Vigilance Committee, it was deter- 
mined that the pursuit of the miscreants — the comrades 
of Ives — should be commenced and maintained with a 
relentless earnestness, which should know no abatement 
until the last blood-stained marauder had paid the 
penalty of his crimes by death on the gallows; or had 
escaped the retribution in store for him by successful 
flight to other countries. Foremost on the list stood 
Aleck Carter, the accomplice, at any rate, in the murder 
of Tbalt. 

Twenty-four men were mustered, whose equipments 
consisted of arms, ammunition, and the most modest 
provision for the wants of the inner man that could pos- 
sibly be conceived sufficient. The volunteers formed a 



114 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

motley group; but there were men enough among them 
of unquestioned courage, whom no difficulty could deter 
and no danger affright. They carried, generally, a pair 
of revolvers, a rifle or shot-gun, blankets and some rope. 
Spirits were forbidden to be used. 

The leader of the party was one of those cool, un- 
daunted, and hardy men, whose career has been marked 
by honesty of purpose and fearlessness concerning the 
consequences of any just or lawful action, and to whom 
society owes a large debt for perils and hardships volun- 
tarily undergone for the salvation of the lives and prop- 
erty of the people of this Territory, and for the punish- 
ment of wrong-doers. 

On the 23d of December, 1863, the party, on horse and 
mule-back, went by way of the Stinkingwater, on to the 
Big Hole, and over the Divide in the main range. The 
weather was very cold, and there was a large quantity of 
snow upon the ground. Fires could not be lighted when 
wanted at night, for fear of attracting attention. The 
men leaving their horses under a guard, lay down in their 
blankets on the snow — the wisest of them in it. As the 
riders had been taken up from work, without time for 
the needful preparation in the clothing department, they 
were but ill prepared to face the stormy and chilling 
blast, which swept over the hills and valleys crossed by 
them on this arduous journey. Few know the hardships 
they encountered. The smiles of an approving con- 
science are about all, in the shape of a reward, that is 
likely to be received by any of them for their brilliant 
services. 

On Deer Lodge Creek the foremost horsemen met Red 
(Erastus Yager); but being unacquainted w T ith him all the 
troop allowed him to pass the different sections of the 
command as they successively encountered him on the 
road. Red, who was now acting as letter-carrier of the 
band, was a light and wiry built man, about ^.v^ feet five 
inches high, with red hair and red whiskers. On in- 
quiry he told the officers that he had ascertained that 
Aleck Carter, Whiskey Bill (Graves). Bill Bunton, and 
others of the gang were lying at Cottonwood drunk; 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 1 1 5 

that they had attended a ball given there, and that they 
had been kicked out of it. A defiance accompanied this 
account, couched in the following euphonious and ele- 
gant strain: "The Stinkingwater may come; we're 

good for thirty of them." This most ingenious fable 
was concocted to put the scouts off their guard and to 
gain time for the fugitives. The same night the last 
of the party had crossed the Divide and camped on Deer 
Lodge Creek — seventeen miles above Cottonwood at 
John Smith's Ranch. 

At this place the men lay over till three o'clock in the 
afternoon, and then saddling up, rode into Cottonwood 
to take their prey by surprise. Arriving there they put 
up their horses, took their supper, and discovered, both 
by actual search and the information of chosen parties, 
that the birds had flown, no one knew whither; though 
a camp fire far away among the hills was distinctly visi- 
ble, and evoked from some of the old mountaineers a 
hearty malediction, for their experienced eyes had 
quickly marked the blaze, and they knew that it meant — 
escape. 

On inquiry it was found that a message had arrived 
from Virginia, warning the robbers to " Get up and 
dust, and lie low for black ducks." A letter was found 
afterward delivered to Tom Reilly, and he showed it to 
the Vigilantes. It was written by Brown, and Red car- 
ried it over, travelling with such rapidity as to kill two 
horses. 

Vexed and dispirited the men started on their return 
by way of Beaver Head Rock. Here they camped in the 
willows without shelter or fire, except such as could be 
made with the green twigs. On Saturday it turned cold 
and snowed heavily, getting worse and worse, until on 
Sunday the cold became fearful, and the sufferings of the 
party were intense. Some of the stock stampeded to the 
canyon out of the way of the storm. The rest were tied 
fast in the willows. It was no small job to hunt up the 
runaways. 

At the station near the camp the party met two friends 
who told them that Red was at Rattlesnake, and volun- 



Il6 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

teers were called to go in pursuit of him. A small party 
of picked men started and followed up this rapid horse- 
man, enduring on their march great hardships from the 
inclemency of the weather. The open air restaurant of 
the main body was not furnished with any great variety 
in the line of provisions. Sometimes the meal was bread 
and bacon — minus the bacon; and sometimes bacon and 
bread — minus the bread. Some choice spirits did ven- 
ture, occasionally, on a song or a jest; but these jocular 
demonstrations were soon checked by the freezing of 
the beard and moustaches. The disconsolate troopers 
slapped their arms to keep themselves warm; but it was 
a melancholy and empty embrace, giving about as much 
warmth and comfort as the dream-begotten memory of 
one loved and lost. 

In the mean time the little party of volunteers wended 
their toilsome way through the deep snow, and riding 
till midnight journeyed as far as Stone's Ranch. Here 
they obtained remounts from the stock of Oliver & Co., 
and then resumed their cheerless progress towards Rat- 
tlesnake, at which place they arrived after a ride of 
twenty miles. One of the party afterward confiden- 
tially observed that " It was cold enough to freeze the 
tail of a brass monkey," which observation had at least 
the merit of being highly metaphorical and forcibly de- 
scriptive. 

The ranch was surrounded and one of the party en- 
tering discovered Buck Stinson, Ned Ray, and a pris- 
oner, whom as deputy sheriffs (?), they had arrested. 
Stinson, 'who had a strong antipathy towards the gentle- 
man who entered first, appeared revolver in hand; but 
finding that the " drop" was falling the wrong way, re- 
strained his bellicose propensities, and eventually not 
being able to fathom the whole purpose of his unwel- 
come visitor, who amused him w T ith a fictitious charge of 
horse-stealing against Red, set free his prisoner on his 
promise to go and surrender himself up, and much 
moved in spirit made his horse do all he knew about gal- 
loping on his road to Bannack Cit}^. 

The party who knew where to look for their man rode 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. llj 

straight for a wakiup a few hundred yards up the creek 
and surrounded it instantly, their guns bearing on it. 
One of them dismounted, and throwing open the flap 
entered with the amicable remark, " It's a mighty cold 
night; won't you let a fellow warm himself ?" Seeing 
Red he further remarked, " You're the man I'm seeking; 
come along with me." 

The captive seemed perfectly unconcerned; he was as 
iron-nerved a man as ever levelled a shot-gun at a coach. 
He was told that he was wanted to go to Virginia; but 
he asked no questions. From his arrest till the moment 
of his execution he seemed possessed with the idea that 
it was his fate to be taken then and there, and that his 
doom was irrevocably sealed. They stayed all night at 
the ranch, Red going to bed with his boots on, " all 
standing," as the sailors say. 

The next morning they got up their horses, Red — un- 
armed of course — riding his own. One trooper rode 
beside him all the time ; the remainder were strung out 
on the road like beads. While loping along the mule of 
the leader stumbled and rolled over, making two or 
three complete somersaults before he fetched up; but 
the snow was so deep that no great harm was done, and 
a merry laugh enlivened the spirits of the party. The 
escort safely brought their prisoner to Dempsey's 
Ranch, where they overtook and rejoined the main body 
that had camped there for two days, awaiting their com- 
ing. The demeanor of the captive was cheerful, and he 
was quite a pleasant companion. He asked no questions 
relative to his arrest, and rode from Rattlesnake to 
Dempsey's as if on a pleasure excursion, behaving in a 
most courteous and gentlemanly manner all the time, 
and this, be it remembered, with the conviction that his 
hours were numbered, and that the blood of his victims 
was about to be avenged. After reporting the capture 
of Yager the party took supper and went to bed. 

There was in the house at this time the secretary — 
Brown — who had written the letter warning his com- 
rades to fly from Cottonwood, and which missive Red 
had carried only too speedily. He acted as barkeeper 



Il8 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

and man of all work at the ranch. This individual was 
the very opposite of Yager in all respects. He was 
cowardly and had never worked on the road, but had 
always done his best to assist the gang as an outsider 
with information calculated to ensure the stoppage of 
treasure-laden victims. He was in the habit of commit- 
ting minor felonies and of appearing as a straw witness 
when needed. 

After breakfast the two men were confronted. Brown 
— who had evidently suspected danger ever since the 
arrival of the Vigilantes — was greatly terrified. Red was 
as cool and collected as a veteran on parade. Previously 
to the two robbers being confronted the captain took Red 
into a private room and told him that he was suspected 
of being in league with a band of road agents and mur- 
derers. He denied the charge altogether. The captain 
then asked him why — if he was innocent — should he 
take such pains to inform the gang that the vigilantes 
were after them? He said that he came along to Bob's 
on his way to Deer Lodge, and that Brown asked him to 
carry a letter along to Aleck Carter and some friends, 
and that having said he would do so he did it. The two 
men were called up to the bar, and there Red again ad- 
mitted the carrying of the letter which Brown had writ- 
ten. Brown having told his examiners that he had seen 
one of their number before and knew him, was asked 
what sort of a man was the one he referred to. He re- 
plied that he took him to be a half-breed. The Vigi- 
lanter who had come in heard the description, and ejacu- 
lating, "You , you call de Dutchmans half-breeds, 

you do, do you ?" made at him with his fists; but his 
comrades almost choking with laughter held him off the 
horrified Brown, whose fear of instantaneous immola- 
tion at the hands of the fiery Dutchlander had blanched 
his cheek to a turnip color. 

The captain then told Brown that he must consider 
himself under arrest, and remain there. He was taken 
out to Dempsey's house and kept there till the exami- 
nation and trial of Red was concluded. Being then 
brought in and questioned, he testified that Red came 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. U9 

to Dempsey's and said that he was going to see the 
boys, and asked if Brown had anything to tell them, of- 
fering to carry the letter. He said that Red was Ives's 
cousin (this was untrue); that he wrote the letter advis- 
ing them to leave, for that the Vigilantes were after 
them. 

At Smith's Ranch it had been found, on comparing 
notes, that the statements of Red to the successive por- 
tions of the command that he had met while crossing 
the Divide, were not consistent, and, as frequently hap- 
pens, the attempt at deception had served only to bring 
out the truth. Red was incontrovertibly proven to be 
one of the gang. The confession of each man conclu- 
sively established the guilt of the other. 

A guard was placed over the two men, and the re- 
mainder of the Vigilantes went out on the bridge and 
took a vote upon the question as to whether the men 
should be executed or liberated. The captain said, "All 
those in favor of hanging those two men step to the 
right side of the road, and those who are for letting 
them go, stand on the left." Before taking the vote he 
had observed to them, " Now, boys, you have heard all 
about this matter, and I want you to vote according to 
your consciences. If you think they ought to suffer 
punishment say so. If you think they ought to go free 
vote for it." The question having been put, the entire 
command stepped over to the right side, and the doom 
of the robbers was sealed. 

One of the party who had been particularly lip-coura- 
geous now began to weaken, and discovered that he 
should lose $2,000 if he did not go home at once. Per- 
suasion only paled his lips, and he started off. The 
click ! click ! click ! of four guns, however, so far di- 
rected his fears into an even more personal channel, that 
he concluded to stay. 

The culprits were informed that they should be taken 
to Virginia, and were given in charge to a trustworthy 
and gallant man, with a detachment of seven selected 
from the whole troop. This escort reached Lorraine's 
in two hours. The rest of the men arrived at sundown. 



120 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA, 

The prisoners were given up, and the leader of the little 
party, who had not slept for four or five nights, lay 
down to snatch a brief but welcome repose. About 10 
p.m. he was awakened, and the significant, " We want 
you," announced " business." 

The tone and manner of the summons at once dis- 
pelled even his profound and sorely-needed slumber. 
He rose without further parley and went from the par- 
lor to the bar-room where Red and Brown were lying in 
a corner asleep. Red got up at the sound of his foot- 
steps and said, " You have treated me like a gentle- 
man, and I know I am going to die — I am going to 
be hanged." " Indeed," said his quondam custodian, 
"that's pretty rough." In spite of a sense of duty, he 
felt what he said deeply. " It is pretty rough," contin- 
ued Yager, "but I merited this years ago. What I want 
to say is that I know all about the gang, and there are 
men in it that deserve this more than I do; but I should 
die happy if I could see them hanged, or know that it 
would be done. I don't say this to get off. I don't 
want to get off." He was told that it would be better if 
he should give all the information in his possession, if 
only for the sake of his kind. Times had been very 
hard, and "you know, Red," said the Vigilanter, "that 
men have been shot down in broad daylight — not for 
money, or even for hatred, but for luck, and it must be 
put a stop to." 

To this he assented, and the captain being called, all 
that had passed was stated to him. He said that the 
prisoner had better begin at once, and his words should 
be taken down. Red began by informing them that 
Plummer was chief of the band; Bill Bunton second in 
command and stool pigeon; Sam Bunton, roadster (sent 
away for being a drunkard); Cyrus Skinner, roadster, 
fence and spy. At Virginia City, George Ives, Stephen 
Marshland, Dutch John (Wagner), Aleck Carter, 
Whiskey Bill (Graves), were roadsters; George Shears 
was a roadster and horse-thief; Johnny Cooper and 
Buck Stinson were also roadsters; Ned Ray was council- 
room keeper at Bannack City; Mexican Frank and Bob 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 121 

Zachary were also roadsters; Frank Parish was road- 
ster and horse-thief; Boone Helm and Club-Foot 
George were roadsters; Haze Lyons and Bill Hun- 
ter were roadsters and telegraph men; George Lowry, 
Billy Page, Doc Howard, Jem Romaine, Billy 'Terwilli- 
ger and Gad Moore were roadsters. The password was 
" Innocent." They wore a necktie fastened with a 
" sailor's knot," and shaved down to moustache and 
chin whiskers. He admitted that he was one of the 
gang, but denied — as they invariably did — that he was a 
murderer. He also stated that Brown — his fellow-cap- 
tive — acted in the capacity before mentioned. 

He spoke of Bill Bunton with a fierce animosity quite 
unlike his usual suave and courteous manner. To him, 
he said, he owed his present miserable position. He it 
was that first seduced him to commit crime at Lewiston. 
He gave the particulars of the robberies of the coaches 
and of many other crimes, naming the perpetrators. As 
these details have been already supplied or will appear 
in the course of the narrative, they are omitted in order 
to avoid a useless repetition. 

After serious reflection it had been decided that the 
two culprits should be executed forthwith, and the 
dread preparations were immediately made for carrying 
out the resolution. 

The trial of George Ives had demonstrated most un- 
questionably that no amount of certified guilt was suffi- 
cient to enlist popular sympathy exclusively on the side 
of justice, or to render the just man other than a mark 
for vengeance. The majority of men sympathize, in 
spite of the voice of reason, with the murderers instead 
of the victims; a course of conduct which appears to us 
inexplicable, though we know it to be common. Every 
fibre of our frame vibrates with anger and disgust when 
we meet a ruffian, a murderer, or a marauder. Mawkish 
sentimentalism we abhor. The thought of murdered 
victims, dishonored females, plundered wayfarers, burn- 
ing houses, and the rest of the sad evidences of villainy, 
completely excludes mercy from our view. Honor, truth 
and the sacrifice of self to considerations of justice and 



122 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

the good of mankirrd — these claim, we had almost said, 
our adoration; but for the low, brutal, cruel, lazy, ignor- 
ant, insolent, sensual and blasphemous miscreants that 
infest the frontiers we entertain but one sentiment — aver- 
sion — deep, strong, and unchangeable. For such cases 
the rope is the only prescription that avails as a remedy, 
But, though such feelings must be excited in the minds 
of good citizens, when brought face t© face with such 
monsters as Stinson, Helm, Gallagher, Ives, Skinner, or 
Graves, the calm courage and penitent conduct of Eras- 
tus Yager have the opposite effect, and the loss of the 
goodly vessel thus wrecked forever must inspire sorrow, 
though it may not and ought not to disarm justice. 

Brief were the preparations needed. A lantern and 
some stools were brought from the house, and the party, 
crossing the creek behind Lorraine's Ranch, made for 
the trees that still bear the marks of the axe which trim- 
med off the superfluous branches. On the road to the 
gallows Red was cool, calm and collected. Brown sob- 
bed and cried for mercy, and prayed God to take care of 
his wife and family in Minnesota. He was married to a 
squaw. Red, overhearing him, said sadly but firmly, 
" Brown, if you had thought of this three years ago, you 
would not be here now, or give these boys this trouble." 

After arriving at the fatal trees they were pinioned 
and stepped on to the stools, which had been placed 
one on the other to form a drop, Brown and the man 
who was adjusting the rope tottered and fell into the 
snow; but recovering himself quickly, the Vigilanter 
said quietly, " Brown, we must do better than that." 

Brown's last words were, " God Almighty save my 
soul." 

The frail platform flew from under him, and his life 
passed away almost with the twang of the rope. 

Red saw his comrade drop, but no sign of trepidation 
was visible. His voice was as calm and quiet as if he 
had been conversing with old friends. He said he knew 
that he should be followed and hanged when he met the 
party on the Divide. He wished that they would chain 
him and carry him along to where the rest were that he 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 1 23 

might see them punished. Just before he was launched 
into eternity, he asked to shake hands with them all, 
which having done, he begged of the man who had es- 
corted him to Lorraine's that he would follow and pun- 
ish the rest. The answer was given in these words, 
" Red, we will do it, if there's any such thing in the 
book." The pledge was kept. 

His last words were, " Good-by, boys; God bless you. 
You are on a good undertaking." The frail footing on 
which he stood gave way, and this dauntless and yet 
guilty criminal died without a struggle. It was pitiful 
to see one whom nature intended for a hero, dying — and 
that justly — like a dog. 

A label was pinioned to his back bearing the legend: 

" Red ! Road Agent and Messenger. " 

The inscription on the paper fastened on to Brown's 
clothes was: 

"Brown! Corresponding Secretary." 

The fatal trees still smile as they don the green livery 
of spring, or wave joyfully in the summer breeze ; but 
when the chill blast of winter moans over the snow-clad 
prairie, the wind sighing and creeking through the sway- 
ing boughs seems, to the excited listener, to be still laden 
with the sighs and sounds of that fatal night. Fiat jus- 
tit i a ntat coelu?n. 

The bodies were left suspended, and remained so for 
some days before they were buried. The ministers of 
justice expected a battle on their arrival at Nevada ; but 
they found the Vigilantes organized in full force, and 
each man, as he uncocked his gun and dismounted, 
heaved a deep sigh of relief. The crisis was past. 



124 THE VIGILANTES OE MONTANA. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

DUTCH JOHN (wAGXER). 
" Give me a horse ! Bind up my wounds." — Richard III. 

The tidings of Ives's execution and the deep and awe- 
striking news of the organization of the Vigilantes in 
the camps on Alder Gulch flew like wildfire, exciting 
wherever they were received the most dread apprehen- 
sion in the minds of those whose consciences told them 
that their capture and their doom were convertible terms. 

Among these men was Dutch John (Wagner). His 
share in the robbery of the train, and his wound from 
the pistol of Lank Forbes, pressed upon his memory. 
By a physical reminder, he was prevented from forget- 
ting, even in his sleep, that danger lurked in every val- 
ley, and w r aited his coming on every path and track by 
which he now trusted to escape from the scene of his 
crimes. Plummer advised him to leave the Territory at 
once, but he offered him no means of locomotion. This, 
however, was of small consequence to Wagner. He 
knew how to obtain a remount. Taking his saddle on 
his back, he started for the ranch of Barret & Shine- 
berger, on Horse Prairie, where he knew there was a 
splendid grey horse — the finest in the country. The 
possession was the trouble — the title was quite immate- 
rial. A friend seeing him start from Bannack with the 
saddle, sent word to the owners of the gallant grey, who 
searched for him without delay, taking care to avoid the 
willows for fear of a shot. One of them, after climbing 
a hill, discovered the robber sitting among the under- 
wood. The place was surrounded and the capture was 
made secure. 

Short shrift was he allowed. His story was disbelieved, 
and his captors went for his personal outfit, if not for 
his purse. They lectured him in the severest terms on 
the depravity which alone rendered horse-stealing pos- 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 12$ 

sible, and then started him off down the road, minus his 
saddle and pistol, but plus an old mule and blanket. 

With these locomotive treasures, Dutch John left 
Horse Prairie, and took the Salt Lake road. He was 
accompanied by an Indian of the Bannack tribe, armed 
with bow, quiver, and knife. Ben. Peabody was the 
first who espied them. He was going to Salt Lake City 
with a cayuse pack-train for goods, and saw the road 
agent and his aboriginal companion at Dry Creek Can- 
yon Ranch, since used by Oliver & Co. as a station on the 
road to the metropolis of the Latter Day Saints. 

About two miles below this place he met Neil Howie, 
who was coming from the same City of Waters, along 
with three wagons laden with groceries and flour. A 
long consultation was the consequence, and a promise 
was given that the aid of the train men would be given 
to secure the fugitive from justice. The same pledge 
was o'btained from Neil's own party, and from the owner 
of a big train further down. 

Shortly after, Dutch John and the Indian hove in 
sight ; but this did not mend matters, for the parties 
"weakened "at once, and left Neil cursing their timidity, 
but determined that he should not escape. Wagner rode 
up and asked for some tobacco. He was told that they 
had none to spare, but that there was a big train 
(Vivion's) down below, and that he might get some 
there. During the conversation he looked suspicious 
and uneasy; but at last went on, parting amicably from 
them, and attended by his copper-colored satellite, 
whose stolid features betrayed no sign of emotion. Neil 
felt "bad," but, determined that his man should not 
escape thus easily, he mounted his pony and galloped 
after him, resolved to seek for help at the big train. He 
soon came up with the pair, and Neil fancied that Wag- 
ner gave some directions to the Indian, for he put his 
hand to his quiver, as if to see that all was right for ac- 
tion. Dutch John held his rifle ready and looked very 
suspiciously at Neil. The Indian kept behind, prepared 
for business. 

After the usual salutations of the road, Neil told John 



126 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

that he wanted to borrow a shoeing-hammer to prepare 
his stock for crossing the Divide, and thereupon he no- 
ticed a sudden, joyful expansion in the eyes of Dutch 
John, and, with a friendly salute, they parted company. 

It was ticklish work for Neil to ride with his back to 
Wagner, right under the muzzle of his rifle, but the 
brave fellow went along as if he suspected nothing, and 
never drew rein till he came to the train. The owner — 
who had often lectured, in strong language, on the proper 
way to deal with {absent) road agents — backed square 
down, notwithstanding all the arguments of Neil, some 
of which were of a nature to bring out any concealed 
courage that his friend possessed. Wagner rode up, 
and glancing quickly and sharply at the two conversing, 
asked for tobacco, and received for reply — not the cov- 
eted weed, but an inquiry as to whether he had any 
money; which not being the case, he was informed that 
there was none for him. Neil immediately told the 
trader to let the man have what he wanted on his credit. 
Wagner appeared deeply grateful for this act of kind- 
ness, and having received the article, set forward on his 
journey. Neil made one more solemn appeal not to "let 
a murderer and road agent escape;" but the train-owner 
said nothing. 

In an instant he determined to arrest the robber at all 
risks, sing]e handed. He called out, " Hallo, Cap ! hold 
on a minute." Wagner wheeled his horse half round, 
and Neil, fixing his eyes upon him, walked straight to- 
wards him with empty hands. His trusty revolver hung 
at his belt, however, and those who have seen the ma- 
chine-like regularity and instantaneous motion with 
which Howie draws and cocks a revolver, as well as the 
rapidity and accuracy of his shooting, well know that 
few men, if any, have odds against him in an encounter 
with fire-arms. Still not one man in a thousand would, 
at a range of thirty yards, walk up to a renowned des- 
perado, sitting quietly with a loaded rifle in his hand, 
and well knowing the errand of his pursuer. Yet this 
gallant fellow never faltered. At twenty yards their eyes 
met, and the gleam of anger, hate, and desperation that 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. \2J 

shot from those of Dutch John spoke volumes. He also 
slewed round his rifle, with the barrel in his left hand and 
his right on the small of the stock. Howie looked him 
straight down, and, as Wagner made the motion with 
his rifle, his hand mechanically sought his belt. No fur- 
ther demonstration being made, he continued his prog- 
ress, which he had never checked, till he arrived within 
a few steps of the Dutchman, and there read perplexity, 
hesitation, anger, and despair in his fiery glances. Those 
resolved and unwavering grey eyes seemed to fascinate 
Wagner. Five paces separated them, and the twitching 
of Wagner's muscles showed that it was touch and go, 
sink or swim. Four ! — three ! — two ! — one ! Fire flashes 
from John's eyes. He is awake at last; but it is too 
late. Neil has passed the butt of his rifle, and in tones 
quiet but carrying authority with them, he broke the 
silence with the order, " Give me your gun and get off 
your mule." A start and a shudder ran through Wag- 
ner's frame like an electric shock. He complied, how- 
ever, and expressed his willingness to go with Neil, both 
then and several times afterward, adding that he need 
fear nothing from him. 

Let it not be imagined that this man was any ordinary 
felon, or one easy to capture. He stood upward of six 
feet high; was well and most powerfully built, being im- 
mensely strong, active, and both coolly and ferociously 
brave. His swarthy visage, determined looking jaw and 
high cheekbones were topped off with a pair of dark eyes, 
whose deadly glare few could face without shrinking 
Added to this, he knew his fate if he were caught. He 
travelled with a rifle in his hand, a heart of stone, a will 
of iron, and the frame of a Hercules. It might also be 
said, with a rope round his neck. For cool daring and 
self-reliant courage, the single-handed capture of Dutch 
John, by Neil Howie, has always appeared to our judg- 
ment as the most remarkable action of this campaign 
against crime. Had he met him and taken him alone, it 
would have been a most heroic venture of life for the 
public good; but to see scores of able-bodied and well- 
armed men refusing even to assist in the deed, and then 



128 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

— single handed — to perform the service from whkh they 
shrank from bodily fear of the consequences, was an 
action at once noble and self-denying in the highest 
sense. Physical courage we share with the brutes; moral 
courage is the stature of manhood. 

The prisoner being brought to the camp-fire was told 
of the nature of the charge against him, and informed 
that if he were the man, a bullet wound would be found 
on his shoulder. On removing his shirt, the fatal mark 
was there. He attempted to account for it by saying, 
that when sleeping in camp his clothes caught fire, and 
his pistol went off accidentally; but neither did the direc- 
tion of the wound justify such an assumption, nor was 
the cause alleged received as other than proof of at- 
tempted deceit, and, consequently, of guilt. The pistol 
could not have been discharged by the fire, without the 
wearer being fatally burned, long before the explosion 
took place, as was proved by actual experiment at the 
fire, by putting a cap on a stick, and holding it right in 
the blaze. 

The ocular demonstration of the prisoner's guilt 
afforded by the discovery of the bullet wound was con- 
clusive. Neil left him in charge, at the big train, and 
rode back to see who would help him to escort the pris- 
oner to Bannack. Volunteering was out of fashion just 
then, and there was no draft. Neil started back and 
brought his prisoner to Dry Creek, where there were 
fifty or sixty men; but still no one seemed to care to 
have anything to do with it. The fear of the roughs 
was so strong that every one seemed to consider it an 
almost certain sacrifice of life to be caught with one of 
their number in charge. 

One of Neil Howie's friends came to him and told him 
that he knew just the very man he, wanted, and that he 
was camped with a train near at hand. This was good 
news, for he had made up his mind to go with his pris- 
oner alone. John Fetherstun at once volunteered to 
accompany him, road agents, horse-thieves and roughs 
in general to the contrary notwithstanding. The two 
brave men here formed that strong personal attachment 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. I2g 

that has ever since united them in a community of senti- 
ment, hardship, danger and mutual devotion. 

The prisoner, who continually protested his innocence 
of any crime, and his resolution to give them no trouble, 
seemed quite resigned, and rode with them unfettered 
and unrestrained, to all appearance. He was frequently 
fifty yards ahead of them; but they were better mounted 
than he was, and carried both pistols and shot-guns, 
while he was unarmed. His amiable manners won upon 
them, and they could not but feel a sort of attachment 
to him — villain and murderer though they knew him to 
be. The following incidents, however, put a finale to 
this dangerous sympathy, and brought them back to 
stern reality. 

The weather being intensely cold, the party halted 
every ten or fifteen miles, lit a fire, and thawed out. On 
one of these occasions, Fetherstun, who usually held the 
horses while Neil raised a blaze, in order to make things 
more comfortable, stepped back about ten paces and set 
down the guns. He had no sooner returned than Wag- 
ner " made a break" for them, and but for the rapid pur- 
suit of Howie and Fetherstun — whose line of march cut 
him off from the coveted artillery — it is likely that this 
chapter would never have been written, and that the two 
friends would have met a bloody death at the hands of 
Dutch John. 

One night, as they were sleeping in the open air, at Red 
Rock, fatigue so overcame the watcher that he snored, in 
token of having transferred the duties of his position to 

Watchful stars that sentinel the skies. 

This suited Wagner exactly. Thinking that the man off 
guard was surely w T rapped in slumber, he raised up and 
took a survey of the position, his dark eyes flashing with a 
stern joy. As he made the first decisive movement 
towards the accomplishment of his object, Neil, who 
sleeps with an eye open at such times, but who, on this 
particular occasion, had both his visual organs on duty — 
suddenly looked up. The light faded from Wagner's 
eyes, and uttering some trite remark about the cold, he 



130 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

lay down again. After a lapse of about an hour or two, 
he thought that, at last, all was right, and again, but even 
more demonstratively, he rose. Neil sat up, and said 
quietly, " John, if you do that again, I'll kill you." A 
glance of despair deepened the gloom on his swarthy 
brow, and, with profuse and incoherent apologies, he 
again lay down to rest. 

On another occasion, they saw the smoke of a camp- 
fire, in close proximity to the road, and Wagner, who no- 
ticed it even sooner than his guards, at once thought 
that it must be the expected rescuers. He sang and 
whistled loudly, as long as they were within hearing, and 
then became sad, silent and downcast. 

" Fortune favors the brave," and they arrived without 
interruption at Horse Prairie. Neil Howie rode on to 
Bannack to reconnoitre — promising to be back, if there 
was any danger, in an hour or so. After waiting for two 
hours, Fetherstun resumed his journey and brought in 
his man, whom he took to his hotel. Neil met Plummer 
and told him of the capture of Wagner. The Sheriff (?) 
demanded the prisoner; but Neil refused to give him up. 
He soon found out that he would be backed by the 
" powers behind the throne." There were no Vigilantes 
organized in Bannack at that time; but four of the Com- 
mittee, good men and true, were, even then, in the saddle, 
on their road from Virginia, with full powers to act in 
the matter. Neil knew very well that a guard under the 
orders of Plummer, and composed of Buck Stinson, Ned 
Ray and their fellows, w^ould not be likely to shoot at a 
prisoner escaping. 

Dutch John proposed to Fetherstun that they should 
take a walk, which they did. Fetherstun did not know 
Bannack; but they sauntered down to Durand's saloon- 
After a few minutes had elapsed Neil came in, and told 
Fetherstun to keep a close watch on Wagner, stating 
that he would be back in a few minutes. The two sat 
down and played a cpuple of games at " seven-up." Buck 
Stinson and Ned Ray came in and shook hands with the 
prisoner. Four or ^.Y(t more also walked up, and one of 
them went through that ceremony very w T armly, looking 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 131 

very sharply at Fetherstun. After taking a drink, he 
wheeled round, and, saying that he was on a drunk, 
stepped out of doors. This raised Fetherstun's suspi- 
cions, which were apparently confirmed when he came in 
after a few minutes, with a party of nine. The whole 
crowd numbered fifteen. Fetherstun made sure that 
they were road agents; for one of them stepped up to 
John and said, "You are my prisoner." John looked at 
his quondam jailer, and laughed. Fetherstun under- 
stood him to mean " You had me once, and now I have 
you." He stepped into the corner and drew his revolver, 
fully expecting death, but determined to put as much 
daylight through them, as the size of his lead would 
allow. He permitted them to take away the prisoner, 
seeing that resistance was absurd, and went off to his 
hotel, where he found four or five men, and being told, 
in answer to his question, that Neil had not been there, 
he said, " Gentlemen, I don't know whom I am address- 
ing; but if you're the right kind of men, I want you to 
follow me; I am afraid the road agents have killed Neil 
Howie; for he left me half an hour ago, to be back in 
five minutes." They all jumped up, and Fetherstun saw- 
that they were the genuine article. He was taking his 
shot-gun, when a man put his head in at the door and 
told him not to be uneasy. The rest seemed satisfied. 
He asked if he could go too, and was answered "no." 
He said he would go, anyhow, and started down street, 
gun in hand. He could not see the man, but walking on, 
he came to a cabin and descried Dutch John, surrounded 
by a group of some twenty men. He knocked, but was 
refused admittance. The party did not know him. It 
was a mutual mistake. Each thought the other belonged 
to the class " road agent." Fetherstun said Wagner 
was his prisoner, and that he must have him. They said 
it was all right; they only wanted to question him. The 
same mistake occurred with regard to Neil Howie, whom 
Fetherstun found shortly after, being aided by one of the 
new captors. He was as hot as calf love at the news, but, 
like it, he soon cooled, when he saw things in the right 
light. 



132 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

The men at once gave up the prisoner to Neil and 
Fetherstun, who marched him back to the hotel, and, 
afterward, to a cabin. Seven or eight parties gathered 
and questioned him as to all that he knew, exhorting 
him to confess. He promised to do so, over and over 
again; but he was merely trying to deceive them and to 
gain time. The leader in the movement took up a book, 
observing that he had heard enough and would not be 
fooled any more. The remainder went on with their in- 
terrogations; but at last ceased in despair of eliciting 
anything like truth from John. 

The literary gentleman closed the book, and approach- 
ing Wagner, told him that he was notoriously a high- 
wayman and a murderer, and that he must be hanged; 
but that if he had any wish as to the precise time for 
his execution he might as well name it, as it would be 
granted if at all reasonable. John walked up and down 
for a while, and then burst into tears, and, lamenting his 
hard lot, agreed to make his confession, evidently hoping 
that it might be held to be of sufficient importance to 
induce them to spare his life. He then gave a long 
statement, corroborating Red's confession in all im- 
portant particulars; but he avoided inculpating himself 
to the last moment, when he confessed his share in the 
robbery of the train by himself and Steve Marshland. 
This ended the examination for the night. 

It w r as at this time that the Vigilance Committee was 
formed in Bannack. A public meeting had been held in 
Peabody's to discuss the question, and the contemplated 
organization was evidently looked upon with favor. The 
most energetic citizen, however, rather threw cold water 
on the proposition. Seeing Ned Ray and Stinson there 
present, he wisely thought that that was no place for 
making such a movement, and held himself in reserve 
for an opportunity to make an effort, at a fitting time 
and place, which offered itself in the evening. 

At midnight he had lain down to rest, when he was 
awakened from sleep by a summons to get up, for that 
men had come from Virginia to see him. He put on his 
clothes hastily, and found that four trustworthy indi- 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 133 

viduals had arrived, bearing a communication from the 
Vigilantes of Virginia, which, on inspection, evidently 
took for granted the fact of their organization, and also 
assumed that they would be subordinate to the central 
authority. This latter question was put to the small 
number of the faithful, and, by a little management, was 
carried with considerable unanimity of feeling. It was 
rather a nice point; for the letter contained an order for 
the execution of Plummer, Stinson and Ray — the first as 
captain, and the others as members of the road agent 
band. Four men had comprised those first enrolled as 
Vigilantes at Bannack. 

It was resolved to spend the following day in enlist- 
ing members, though no great progress was made after 
all. 

Towards night, the people, generally, became aware 
that Wagner was a prisoner and a road agent. No 
one would let him into his house. Neil Howie and 
Fetherstun took him to an empty cabin on Yankee Flat. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE ARREST AND EXECUTION OF HENRY PLUMMER, THE 
ROAD AGENT CHIEF, BUCK STINSON AND NED RAY. 

United there that trio died, 

By deeds of crime and blood allied. 

At dusk, three horses were brought into town, belong- 
ing severally and respectively to the three marauders so 
often mentioned, Plummer, Stinson, and Ray. It was 
truly conjectured that they had determined to leave the 
country, and it was at once settled that they should be 
arrested that night. Parties were detailed for the work. 
Those entrusted with the duty performed it admirably. 
Plummer was undressing when taken at his house. His 
pistol (a self-cocking weapon) was broken and useless. 



134 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

Had he been armed, resistance would have been futile; 
for he was seized the moment the door was opened in 
answer to the knocking from without. Stinson was ar- 
rested at Toland's, where he was spending the evening. 
He would willingly have done a little firing, but his cap- 
tors were too quick for him. Ray was lying on a gam- 
ing table when seized. The three details marched their 
men to a given point, en route to the gallows. Here a 
halt was made. The leader of the Vigilantes and some 
others, who wished to save all unnecessary hard feeling, 
were sitting in a cabin, designing not to speak to Plum- 
mer, with whom they were so well acquainted. A halt 
was made, however, and at the door appeared Plummer. 
The light was extinguished; when the party moved on, 
but soon halted. The crisis had come. Seeing that the 
circumstances were such as admitted of neither vacilla- 
tion nor delay, the citizen leader, summoning his friends, 
went up to the party and gave the military command, 
" Company ! forward — march !" This was at once 
obeyed. A rope taken from a noted functionary's bed had 
been mislaid and could not be found. A nigger boy was 
sent off for some of that highly necessary but unpleasant 
remedy for crime, and the bearer made such good time 
that some hundreds of feet of hempen necktie were on 
the ground before the arrival of the party at the gallows. 
On the road Plummer heard the voice and recognized 
the person of the leader. He came to him and begged 
for his life; but was told, "It is useless for you to beg 
for your life; that affair is settled and cannot be altered. 
You are to be hanged. You cannot feel harder about it 
than I do; but I cannot help it if I would." Ned Ray, 
clothed with curses as with a garment, actually tried 
fighting, but found that he was in the wrong company 
for such demonstrations; and Buck Stinson made the air 
ring with the blasphemous and filthy expletives which 
he used in addressing his captors. Plummer exhausted 
every argument and plea that his imagination could sug- 
gest, in order to induce his captors to spare his life. He 
begged to be chained down in the meanest cabin; offered 
to leave the country forever; wanted a jury trial; im- 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 1 35 

plored time to settle his affairs; asked to see his sister- 
in-law, and, falling on his knees, with tears and sighs 
declared to God that he was too wicked to die. He 
confessed his numerous murders and crimes, and seemed 
almost frantic at the prospect of death. 

The first rope being thrown over the cross-beam, and 
the noose being rove, the order was given to " Bring up 
Ned Ray." This desperado was run up with curses on 
his lips. Being loosely pinioned, he got his fingers be- 
tween the rope and his neck, and thus prolonged his 
misery. 

Buck Stinson saw his comrade robber swinging in the 
death agony, and blubbered out, " There goes poor Ed 
Ray." Scant mercy had he shown to his numerous vic- 
tims. By a sudden twist of his head at the moment of 
his elevation, the knot slipped under his chin, and he 
was some minutes dying. 

The order to " Bring up Plummer" was then passed 
and repeated; but no one stirred. The leader went over 
to this perfect gentleman, as his friends called him, and 
was met by a request to " Give a man time to pray." 
Well knowing that Plummer relied for a rescue upon 
other than Divine aid, he said briefly and decidedly, 
" Certainly; but let him say his prayers up here." Find- 
ing all efforts to avoid death were useless, Plummer rose 
and said no more prayers. Standing under the gallows 
which he had erected for the execution of Horan, this 
second Haman slipped off his necktie and threw it over 
his shoulder to a young friend who had boarded at his 
house, and who believed him innocent of crime, saying 
as he tossed it to him, " Here is something to remember 
me by." In the extremity of his grief, the young man 
threw himself weeping and wailing upon the ground. 
Plummer requested that the men would give him a 
good drop, which was done, as far as circumstances per- 
mitted, by hoisting him up as high as possible, in their 
arms, and letting him fall suddenly. He died quickly 
and without much struggle. 

It was necessary to seize Ned Ray's hands, and by a 
violent effort to draw his fingers from between the noose 



136 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA, 

and his neck before he died. Probably he was the last 
to expire of the guilty trio. 

The news of a man's being hanged flies faster than any 
other intelligence in a Western country, and several had 
gathered round the gallows on that fatal Sabbath even- 
ing — many of them friends of the road agents. The spec- 
tators were allowed to come up to a certain point, and 
were then halted by the guard, who refused permission 
either to depart or to approach nearer than the " dead 
line," on pain of their being instantly shot. 

The weather was intensely cold, but the party stood for 
a long time round the bodies of the suspended malefac- 
tors, determined that rescue should be impossible. 

Loud groans and cries uttered in the vicinity attract- 
ed their attention, and a small squad started in the direc- 
tion from which the sound proceeded. The detachment 
soon met Madam Hall, a noted courtesan — the mistress 
of Ned Ray — who was " making night hideous" with her 
doleful w T ailings. Being at once stopped, she began in- 
quiring for her paramour, and was thus informed of his 
fate, "Well, if you must know, he is hung." A volcanic 
eruption of oaths and abuse was her reply to this informa- 
tion; but the men were on "short time," and escorted 
her towards her dwelling without superfluous display of 
courtesy. Having arrived at the brow of a short descent, 
at the foot of which stood her cabin, stern necessity com- 
pelled a rapid and final progress in that direction. 

Soon after, the party formed and returned to town, 
leaving the corpses stiffening in the icy blast. The bodies 
were eventually cut down by the friends of the road 
agents and buried. The " Reign of Terror" in Bannack 
was over. 



THE VIGILANTES OE MONTANA. 137 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE EXECUTION OF u THE GREASER " (jOE PIZANTHIA), 
AND DUTCH JOHN (WAGNER). 

" Hope withering fled, and mercy sighed, farewell." — Campbell. 

A marked change in the tone of public sentiment was 
the consequence of the hanging of the blood-stained 
criminals, whose deserved fate is recorded in the preced- 
ing chapters. Men breathed freely; for Plummer and 
Stinson especially were dreaded by almost every one. The 
latter was of the type of that brutal desperado whose for- 
mula of introduction to a Western bar-room is so well 
known in the Mountains: u Whoop! I'm from Pike Coun- 
ty, Missouri; I'm ten feet high; my abode is where lewd 
women and licentious men mingle; my parlor is the 
Rocky Mountains. I smell like a wolf; I drink water out 

of a brook like a horse. Look out, you , I'm going 

to turn loose," etc. A fit mate for such a God-iorgotten 
outlaw was Stinson, and he, with the oily and snake-like 
demon, Plummer, the wily, red-handed, and politely 
merciless chief, and the murderer and robber, Ray, were 
no more. The Vigilantes organized rapidly. Public 
opinion sustained them. 

On Monday morning it was determined to arrest " the 
Greaser," Joe Pizanthia, and to see precisely how his re- 
cord stood in the Territory. Outside of it it was known 
that he was a desperado, a murderer and a robber; but 
that was not the business of the Vigilantes. A party 
started for his cabin, which was built in a side-hill. The 
interior looked darker than usual from the bright glare 
of the surrounding snow. The summons to come forth 
being disregarded, Smith Ball and George Copley en- 
tered, contrary to the advice of their comrades, and in- 
stantly received the fire of their concealed foe. Cop- 
ley was shot through the breast. Smith Ball received a 
bullet in the hip. They both staggered out, each ejacu- 



I38 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

lating, "I'm shot/' Copley was led off by two friends, 
and died of his wound. Smith Ball recovered himself, 
and was able to empty his six-shooter into the body of 
the assassin, when the latter was dragged forth. 

The popular excitement rose nearly to madness. Cop- 
ley was a much-esteemed citizen, and Smith Ball had 
many friends. It was the instant resolution of all pres- 
ent that the vengeance on the Greaser should be sum- 
mary and complete. 

A party whose military experience was still fresh in 
their memory made a rush, at the double-quick, for a 
mountain howitzer which lay dismounted, where it had 
been left by the train to which it was attached. Without 
waiting to place it on the carriage, it was brought by 
willing hands to within five rods of the windowless side 
of the cabin, and some old artillerists, placing it on a box, 
loaded it with shell, and laid it for the building. By one 
of those omissions so common during times of excite- 
ment, the fuse was left uncut, and, being torn out in its 
passage through the logs, the missile never exploded, 
but left a clean breach through the wall, making the 
chips fly. A second shell was put into the gun, and this 
time the fuse was cut, but the range was so short that 
the explosion took place after it had traversed the house. 

Thinking that Pizanthia might have taken refuge in 
the chimney, the howitzer was pointed for it and sent a 
solid shot through it. Meanwhile the military judgment 
of the leader had been shown by the posting of some 
riflemen opposite the shot-hole, with instructions to 
maintain so rapid a fire upon it that the beleagured in- 
mate should not be able to use it as a crenelle through 
which to fire upon the assailants. No response being 
given to the cannon and small-arms, the attacking party 
began to think of storming the dwelling. 

The leader called for volunteers to follow him. Ne- 
vada cast in her lot first, and men from the crowd joined. 
The half dozen stormers moved steadily, under cover 
to the edge of the last building, and then dashed at the 
house, across the open space. The door had fallen from 
the effects of the fusillade; but, peeping in, they could 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 1 39 

see nothing until a sharp eye noticed the Greaser's boots 
protruding. Two lifted the door, while Smith Ball drew 
his revolver and stood ready. The remainder seized the 
boots. 

On lifting the door, Pizanthia was found lying flat and 
badly hurt. His revolver was beside him. He was 
quickly dragged out, Smith Ball paying him for the 
wound he had received by emptying his revolver into 
him. 

A clothes-line was taken down and fastened round his 
neck; the leader climbed a pole, and the rest holding up 
the body, he wound the rope round the top of the stick 
of timber, making a jamb hitch. While aloft, fastening 
all securely, the crowd blazed away upon the murderer 
swinging beneath his feet. At his request, "Say, boys! 
stop shooting a minute" — the firing ceased, and he came 
down " by the run." Over one hundred shots were dis- 
charged at the swaying corpse. 

A friend — one of the four Bannack originals — touched 
the leader's arm and said, " Come and see my bonfire," 
Walking down to the cabin, he found that it had been 
razed to the ground by the maddened people, and was 
then in a bright glow of flame. A proposition to burn 
the Mexican w T as received with a shout of exultation. 
The body was hauled down and thrown upon the pile, 
upon which it was burned to ashes so completely that 
not a trace of a bone could be seen when the fire burned 
out. 

In the morning some women of ill-fame actually 
panned out the ashes, to see whether the desperado had 
any gold in his purse. We are glad to say that they 
were not rewarded for their labors by striking any aurif- 
erous deposit. 

The popular vengeance had been only partially satis- 
fied so far as Pizanthia was concerned; and it would be 
well if those who preach against the old Vigilance Com- 
mittee would reflect upon the great difference which ex- 
isted between the prompt and really necessary severity 
which they exercised and the wild and ungovernable pas- 
sion which goads themassesof all countries, when roused 



140 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

to deeds of vengeance of a type so fearful that humanity 
.recoils at the recital. Over and over again we have 

heard a man declaring that it was "a shame," to 

hang some one that he wished to see punished. " , 

he ought to be burnt; I would pack brush three miles 
up a mountain myself." " He ought to be fried in his 
own grease," etc., and it must not be supposed that such 
expressions were mere idle bravado. The men said just 
what they meant. Incases where criminals convicted of 
grand larceny have been whipped, it has never yet hap- 
pened that the punishment has satisfied the crowd. The 
truth is, that the Vigilance Committee simply punished 
with death men unfit to live in any community, and 
that death was, usually, almost instantaneous, and only 
momentarily painful. With the exceptions recorded 
(Stinson and Ray) the drop and the death of the victim 
seemed simultaneous. In a majority of cases, a few al- 
most imperceptible muscular contortions, not continuing 
over a few seconds, were all that the keenest observer 
could detect; whereas, had their punishment been left 
to outsiders, the penalty would have been cruel and dis- 
gusting in the highest degree. What would be thought 
of the burning of Wagner and panning out his ashes 
by order of the Vigilantes ? In every case where men have 
confessed their crimes to the Vigilantes of Montana, they 
dreaded the vengeance of their comrades far more than 
their execution at the hands of the Committee, and clung 
to them as if they considered them friends. 

A remarkable instance of this kind was apparent in the 
conduct of John Wagner. While in custody at the cabin, 
on Yankee Flat, the sound of footsteps and suppressed 
voices was heard in the night. Fetherstun jumped up, 
determined to defend himself and his prisoner to the 
last. Having prepared his arms, he cast a look over his 
shoulder to see what Dutch John was doing. The road 
agent stood with a double-barrelled gun in his hand, 
evidently watching for a chance to do battle on behalf of 
his captor. Fetherstun glanced approvingly at him, and 

said, " That's right, John, give them ." John smiled 

grimly and nodded, the muzzle of his piece following the 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 141 

direction of the sound, and his dark eyes glaring like 
those of a roused lion. Had he wished, he could have 
shot Fetherstun in the back, without either difficulty or 
danger. Probably the assailants heard the ticking of 
the locks of the pieces in the still night, and therefore 
determined not to risk such an attack, which savages of 
all kinds especially dislike. 

The evening after the death of Pizanthia the newly- 
organized Committee met, and, after some preliminary 
discussion, a vote was taken as to the fate of Dutch 
John. The result was that his execution was unani- 
mously adjudged, as the only penalty meeting the merits 
of the case. He had been a murderer and a highway 
robber for years. 

One of the number present at the meeting was deputed 
to convey the intelligence to Wagner; and accordingly 
he w T ent dow r n to his place of confinement and read to 
him his sentence of death, informing him that he would 
be hanged in an hour from that time. Wagner was 
much shocked by the news. He raised himself to his 
feet and walked with agitated and tremulous steps across 
the floor, once or twice. He begged hard for life, pray- 
ing them to cut off his arms and legs, and then let him 
go. He said, " You know I could do nothing then." He 
was informed that his request could not be complied 
with, and that he must prepare to die. 

Finding death to be inevitable, Wagner summoned 
his fortitude to his aid and showed no more signs of 
weakness. It was a matter of regret that he could not 
be saved for his courage, and (outside of his villainous 
trade) his good behavior won upon his captors and 
judges to an extent that they were unwilling to admit, 
even to themselves. Amiability and bravery could not 
be taken as excuses for murder and robbery, and so 
Dutch John had to meet a felon's death and the judg- 
ment to come, with but short space for repentance. 

He said that he wished to send a letter to his mother, 
in New York, and inquired whether there was not a 
Dutchman in the house who could write in his native 
language. A man being procured qualified as desired, 



142 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

he communicated his wishes to him and his amanuensis 
wrote as directed. Wagner's fingers were rolled up in 
rags, and he could not handle the pen without incon- 
venience and pain. He had not recovered from the 
frost-bites which had moved the pity of X. Beidler when 
he met John before his capture, below Red Rock. The 
epistle being finished, it was read aloud by the scribe; 
but it did not please Wagner. He pointed out several 
inaccuracies in the method of carrying out his instruc- 
tions, both as regarded the manner and the matter of the 
communication; and at last, unrolling the rags from his 
fingers, he sat down and wrote the missive himself. 

He told his mother that he was condemned to die, and 
had but a few minutes to live; that w r hen coming over 
from the other side, to deal in horses, he had been met 
by bad men, who had forced him to adopt the line of life 
that had placed him in his present miserable position; 
that the crime for which he was sentenced to die was 
assisting in robbing a wagon, in which affair he had been 
wounded and taken prisoner, and that his companion 
had been killed. (This latter assertion he probably be- 
lieved.) He admitted the justice of his sentence. 

The letter, being concluded, was handed to the Vigi- 
lantes for transmission to his mother. He then quietly 
replaced the bandages on his wounded fingers. The 
style of the composition showed that he was neither ter- 
rified nor even disturbed at the thought of the fast-ap- 
proaching and disgraceful end of his guilty life. The 
statements were positively untrue, in many particulars, 
and he seemed to write only as a matter of routine duty; 
though we may hope that his affection for his mother 
was, at least, genuine. 

He was marched from the place of his confinement to 
an unfinished building, where the bodies of Stinson and 
Plummer were laid out — the one on the floor and the 
other on a work bench. Ray's corpse had been handed 
over to his mistress, at her special request. The doomed 
man gazed without shrinking on the remains of the 
malefactors, and asked leave to pray. This was, of 
course, granted, and he knelt down. His lips moved 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 1 43 

rapidly; but he uttered no word audibly. On rising to 
his feet, he continued apparently to pray, looking round, 
however, upon the assembled Vigilantes all the time. A 
rope being thrown over a cross-beam, a barrel was placed 
ready for him to stand upon. While the final prepara- 
tions were making, the prisoner asked how long it would 
take him to die, as he had never seen a man hanged. He 
was told that it would be only a short time. The noose 
w r as adjusted; a rope was tied round the head of the bar- 
rel and the party took hold. At the word, " All ready," 
the barrel was instantly jerked from beneath his feet, 
and he swung in the death agony. His struggles were 
very powerful, for a short time; so iron a frame could 
not quit its hold on life as easily as a less muscular 
organization. After hanging till frozen stiff, the body 
was cut down and buried decently. 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE CAPTURE AND EXECUTION OF BOONE HELM, JACK 
GALLAGHER, FRANK PARISH, HAZE LYONS AND CLUB- 
FOOT GEORGE (LANE). 

" Tis joy to see the engineer hoist 
With his own petard." — Shakespeare. 

The effect of the executions noticed in the foregoing: 
chapters was both marked and beneficial. There was 
much to be done, however, to ensure anything like last- 
ing peace to the community. Ives, Yager, Brown, Plum- 
mer, Stinson, Ray, Pizanthia and Wagner were dead; 
but the five villains whose names head this chapter, to- 
gether with Bunton, Zachary, Marshland, Shears, Cooper, 
Carter, Graves, Hunter and others were still at large, and 
were supported by many others equally guilty, though 
less daring and formidable as individuals. 

Threats of vengeance had been made, constantly, 



144 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

against the Vigilantes, and a plot to rob several stores 
in Virginia had nearly matured, when it was discovered 
and prevented. Every man who had taken part in the 
pursuit of the criminals whose fate has been recorded, 
was marked for slaughter by the desperadoes, and noth- 
ing remained but to carry out the good work so auspi- 
ciously begun, by a vigorous and unhesitating severity, 
which should know no relaxation until the last blood- 
stained miscreant that could be captured had met a fel- 
on's doom. 

On the evening of the 13th of January, 1864, the Ex- 
ecutive Committee, in solemn conclave assembled, de- 
termined on hanging six of them forthwith. One of the 
doomed men — Bill Hunter — suspecting danger, managed 
to crawl away, along a drain-ditch, through the line of 
pickets that surrounded the town, and made his escape. 
He was badly frozen by exposure to the cold, and before 
his capture, was discovered by J. A. Slade, while lying 
concealed under a bed at a ranch, and told that the Vigi- 
lantes were after him, which information caused him to 
move his quarters to Gallatin Valley, where he was caught 
and executed soon after, as will appear in the course of 
this narrative. 

While the Committee were deliberating in secret, a 
small party of the men who were at that moment receiv- 
ing sentence of death, were gathered in an upper room 
at a gambling house, and engaged in betting at faro. 
Jack Gallagher suddenly remarked, " While we are here 
betting, those Vigilante sons of are passing sen- 
tence on us." This is considered to be the most remark- 
able and most truthful saying of his whole life; but he 
might be excused telling the truth once, as it was entirely 
accidental. 

Express messengers were sent to warn the men of the 
neighboring towns in the gulch, and the summons was 
instantly obeyed. 

Morning came — the last on earth that the five desper- 
adoes should ever behold. The first rays of light showed 
the pickets of the Vigilantes stationed on every eminence 
and point of vantage round the city. The news flew like 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 145 

lightning through the town. Many a guilty heart quaked 
with just fear, and many.an assassin's lip turned pale and 
quivered with irrepressible terror. The detachments of 
Vigilantes, with compressed lips and echoing footfall, 
marched in from Nevada, Junction, Summit, Pine Grove, 
Highland and Fairweather, and halted in a body in Main 
street. Parties were immediately detailed for the capture 
of the road agents, and all succeeded in their mission, 
except the one which went after Bill Hunter, who had 
escaped. 

Frank Parish was brought in first. He w r as arrested 
without trouble, in a store, and seemed not to expect 
death. He took the executive officer one side, and asked, 
" What am I arrested for?" He was told, " For being a 
road agent and thief, and accessory to the murders and 
robberies on the road." At first he pleaded innocent; 
but at last he confessed his complicity with the gang, 
and admitted being one of the party that robbed the 
coach between Bannack and Virginia, and that he was 
guilty of stealing horses and stock for them. He used 
to butcher stolen cattle, and attend to the commissariat 
business. He gave some directions about articles of 
clothing belonging to him, and the settlement of some 
debts. Until his confession, it was not known that he 
had any share in the robbery of the coach. 

Club-Foot George (George Lane) was arrested at 
Dance & Stuart's. He was living there, and working at 
odd times. He was perfectly cool and collected, and 
inquired the reason of his arrest, as Parish had done pre- 
viously. On receiving the same answer, he appeared 
surprised, and said, "If you hang me you will hang an 
innocent man." He was told that the proof was positive, 
and that if he had any preparation to make he must do 
it at once, as his sentence was death. He appeared peni- 
tent and sat down for some time, covering his face with 
his hands. He then asked for a minister, and one being 
immediately sent for, he talked and prayed with him till 
the procession to the gallows was formed. In his pocket- 
book was found an extract from a Western newspaper, 
stating that George Lane, the notorious horse-thief, was 



146 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

Sheriff of Montana. Lane was a man of iron nerve; he 
seemed to think no more of the hanging than a man 
would of eating his breakfast. 

Boone Helm was brought in next. He had been 
arrested in front of the Virginia Hotel. Two or three 
were detailed for his capture of whom he would entertain 
no suspicion, and they played their part, apparently, so 
carelessly and well, that he was seized without being able 
to make any effort at resistance. A man at each arm, 
and one behind, with a cocked revolver, brought him to 
the rendezvous. He lamented greatly that he "had no 
show" when taken, as he said, "They would have had a 
gay old time taking me, if I had known w r hat they were 
after." His right hand was in a sling. He quietly sat 
down on a bench, and on being made acquainted with 
his doom, he declared his entire innocence. He said, 
"I am as innocent as the babe unborn; I never killed any 
one, or robbed or defrauded any man; I am willing to 
swear it on the Bible." Anxious to see if he was really 
so abandoned a villain as to swear this, the book was 
handed to him, and he, with the utmost solemnity, 
repeated an oath to that effect, invoking most terrific 
penalties on his soul, in case he was swearing falsely. 
He kissed the book most impressively. He then addressed 
a gentleman, and asked him to go into a private room. 
Thinking that Boone wanted him to pray with him, he 
proposed to send for a clergyman; but Boone said, 
"You'll do." On reaching the inner room, the prisoner 
said, "Is there no way of getting out of this?" Being 
told that there was not, and that he must die, he said, 
"Well, then, I'll tell you. I did kill a man named Shoot, 
in Missouri, and I got away to the West; and I killed 
another chap in California. When I was in Oregon I got 
into jail, and dug my way out with tools that my squaw 
gave me." Being asked if he would not tell what he 
knew about the gang, he said, "Ask Jack Gallagher; he 
knows more than I do." Jack, who was behind a parti- 
tion, heard him, and burst out into a volley of execra- 
tions, saying that it was just such cowardly sons of 

and traitors that had brought him into that scrape. 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA 147 

Helm was the most hardened, cool and deliberate 
scoundrel of the whole band, and murder was a mere 
pastime to him. He killed Mr. Shoot, in Missouri, (as 
will be afterward narrated,) and testimony of the most 
conclusive character showed that his hands were steeped 
in blood, both in Idaho and since his coming to the 
Territory. Finding that all his asseverations and pleas 
availed him nothing, he said, "I have dared death in all 
its forms, and I do not fear to die." He called repeatedly 
for whiskey, and had to be reprimanded several times for 
his unseemly conduct. 

The capture of Lyons, though unattended with danger, 
was effected only by great shrewdness. He had been 
boarding at the Arbor Restaurant, near the " Shades." 
The party went in. The owner said he was not there, 
but that they might search if they liked. The search was 
made and was ineffectual. He had left in the morning. 
During the search for Lyons Jack Gallagher was found, 
in a gambling room, rolled up in bedding, with his shot- 
gun and revolver beside him. He was secured too 
quickly to use his weapons, if, indeed, he had had the 
courage; but his heart failed him, for he knew that his 
time was come. He was then taken to the place of 
rendezvous. 

In the mean time the other party went after Haze 
Lyons, and found that he had crossed the hill, beyond 
the point overhanging Virginia, and, after making a cir- 
cuit of three miles through the mountains, he had come 
back to within a quarter of a mile of the point, from 
which he started to a miner's cabin, on the west side of 
the gulch, above town. At the double-quick, the pursuers 
started, the moment they received the information. The 
leader threw open the door, and bringing down his 
revolver to a present, said, "Throw up your hands." 
Lyons had a piece of hot slapjack on his fork; but 
dropped it instantly, and obeyed the order. He was told 
to step out. This he did at once. He was in his shirt- 
sleeves, and asked for his coat which was given to him. 
He was so nervous that he could hardly get his arms into 
it, A rigid search for weapons was made ; but he had 



148 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

just before taken off his belt and revolver, laying them 
on the bed. He said that that was the first meal he had 
sat down to with any appetite for six weeks. Being told 
to finish his dinner, he thanked the captain, but said he 
could eat no more. He then inquired what was going to 
be done with him, and whether they would hang him. 
The captain said, "I am not here to promise you anything; 
prepare for the worst." He said, "My friends advised 
me to leave here, two or three days ago." The captain 
asked why he did not go. He replied that he had "done 
nothing, and did not want to go." (He was one of the 
murderers of Dillingham, in June, '6^ and was sentenced 
to death, but spared, as before related.) The real reason 
for his stay was his attachment for a woman in town, 
whose gold watch he wore when he died on the scaffold. 
He was asked if he had heard of the execution of Plum- 
mer, Buck Stinson and Ned Ray. He replied that he 
had; but that he did not believe it. He was informed 
that it was true in the following words, "You may bet 
your sweet life on it." He then inquired, "Did they 
fight?" and was informed that they did not; for that they 
had not any opportunity. By this time they had arrived 
at the rendezvous, and Lyons found himself confronted 
by some familiar faces. 

Jack Gallagher came in swearing, and appeared to be 
inclined to pretend that the affair was a joke, asking, 

"What the is it all about?" and saying, "This is 

a pretty break, ain't it ?" Being informed of his sentence, 
he appeared much affected, and sat down crying; after 
which he jumped up, cursing in the most ferocious man- 
ner, and demanded who had informed on him. He was 
told that it was "Red, who was hung at Stinkingwater." 
He cursed him with every oath he could think of. He 
said to himself, "My God! must I die in this way?" 
His general conduct and profanity were awful, and he 
was frequently rebuked by the chief of the executive. 

Haze Lyons was last fetched in, and acquainted with 
his sentence. He, of course, pleaded innocent, in the 
strongest terms; but he had confessed to having mur- 
dered Dillingham, to a captain of one of the squads of 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 149 

the guard, in the presence of several witnesses; and he 
was a known road agent. He gave some directions for 
letters to be written, and begged to see his mistress; but, 
warned by the experiment of the previous year, his re- 
quest was denied. 

The chief despatched an officer, with fifteen men, who 
went at the double-quick to Highland District, where 
two suspicious looking characters had gone, with blank- 
ets on their backs, the evening before, and making the 
" surround" of the cabin, the usual greeting of "throw 
up your hands," enforced by a presented revolver, was 
instantly obeyed, and they were marched down after be- 
ing disarmed. The evidence not being conclusive, they 
were released though their guilt w T as morally certain. 
The Vigilantes rigidly abstained, in all cases, from in- 
flicting the penalty due to crime, without entirely satis- 
factory evidence of guilt. 

After all was arranged for hanging them, the prisoners 
were ordered to stand in a row, facing the guard, and 
were informed that they were about to be marched to 
the place of execution. Being asked if they had any re- 
quests to prefer, as that would be their last opportunity, 
they said they had none to make. They were then asked 
if they had anything to communicate, either of their own 
deeds or their comrade road agents ; but they all re- 
fused to make any confession. The guard were ordered 
to pinion their prisoners. Jack Gallagher swore he 
would never be hung in public; and drawing his knife 
he clapped the blade to his neck, saying that he would 
cut his throat first. The executive officer instantly cocked 
his pistol, and told him that if he made another move- 
ment, he would shoot him, and ordered the guard to dis- 
arm him. One of them seized his wrist and took the 
knife, after which he was pinioned, cursing horribly all 
the time. Boone Helm was encouraging Jack, telling him 

not to " make a fool of himself," as there was no use 

in being afraid to die. 

The chief called upon men that could be depended 
upon, to take charge of the prisoners to the place of exe- 
cution. The plan adopted was to march the criminals, 



t$0 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

previously pinioned, each between two Vigilantes, who 
grasped an arm of the prisoner w T ith one hand, and held 
in the other a " navy" — ready for instant use. When 
Haze Lyons heard the order above mentioned, he called 
out, "X I w r ant you to come and stay with me till I die," 
which reasonable request was at once complied with. 

The criminals were marched into the centre of a hol- 
low square, which was flanked by four ranks of Vigi- 
lantes, and a column in front and rear, armed with shot- 
guns and rifles carried at a half present, ready to fire at 
a moment's warning, completed the array. The pistol 
men were dispersed through the crowd to attend to the 
general deportment of outsiders, or, as a good man ob- 
served, to take the roughs "out of the wet." 

At the word "march !" the party started forward, and 
halted, with military precision, in front of the Virginia 
Hotel. The halt w T as made while the ropes were prepar- 
ing at the unfinished building, now Clayton & Hale's 
Drug Store, at the corner of Wallace and Van Buren 
streets. The logs were up to the square, but there was 
no roof. The main beam for the support of the roof, 
which runs across the centre of the building, was used as 
a gallows, the rope being thrown over it, and then taken 
to the rear and fastened round some of the bottom logs. 
Five boxes were placed immediately under the beam, as 
substitutes for drops. 

The prisoners were, during this time, in front of the 
Virginia Hotel. Club-Foot George called a citizen to 
him, and asked him to speak as to his character; but 
this the gentleman declined saying, " Your dealings with 
me have been right; but what you have done outside of 
that I do not know." Club-Foot then asked him to pray 
with him, which he did, kneeling down and offering up a 
fervent petition to the throne of grace on his behalf. 
George and Jack Gallagher knelt. Haze Lyons requested 
that his hat should be taken off, which was done. Boone 
Helm was cracking jokes all the time. Frank Parish 
seemed greatly affected at the near prospect of death. 
Boone Helm, after the prayer was over, called to Jack 
Gallagher, "Jack, give me that coat; you never gave me 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. I$I 

anything." "D d sight of use you'd have for it," re- 
plied Jack. The two worthies kept addressing short and 
pithy remarks to their friends around, such as " Hallo, 
Jack, they've got me this time; " "Bill, old boy, they've 
got me, sure," etc. 

Jack called to a man, standing at the windows of the 
Virginia Hotel, " Say ! I'm going to heaven ! I'll be 
there in time to open the gate for you, old fellow." Jack 
wore a very handsome United States cavalry officer's 
overcoat, trimmed with Montana beaver. 

Haze begged of his captor that his mistress might see 
him, but his prayer was refused. He repeated his re- 
quest a second time, with the like result. A friend of- 
fered to fetch the woman, but was ordered off; and on 
Haze begging for the third time to see her, he received 

this answer, " Haze ! emphatically ! by G d, bringing 

women to the place of execution played out in '63." This 
settled the matter. The Vigilantes had not forgotten the 
scene after the trial of Dillingham's murderers. 

The guard marched at the word to the place -of execu- 
tion, opened ranks, and the prisoners stepped up on the 
boxes. Club-Foot George w T as at the east side of the 
house; next to him was Haze Lyons; then Jack Galla- 
gher and Boone Helm. The box next to the w T est end of 
the house was occupied by Frank Parish. The hats of 
the prisoners were ordered to be removed. Club-Foot, 
who was somewhat slightly pinioned, reached up to his 
California hat, and dashed it angrily on the ground. The 
rest were taken off by the guards. 

The nooses were adjusted by five men, and — all being 
ready — Jack Gallagher, as a last request, asked that he 
might have something to drink, which, after some demur, 
was acceded to. Club-Foot George looked round, and, 
seeing an old friend clinging to the logs of the building, 
said, " Good-by, old fellow — I'm gone;" and, hearing 
the order, " Men, do your duty" — without waiting for his 
box to be knocked away — he jumped off, and died in a 
short time. 

Haze stood next; but was left to the last. He was talk- 
ing all the time, telling the people that he had a kind 



152 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

mother, and that he had been well brought up; that he 
did not expect that it would have come to that; but that 
bad company had brought him to it. 

Jack Gallagher, while standing on the box, cried all 
the time, using the most profane and dreadful language. 
He said, " I hope that forked lightning will strike every 
strangling — — of you." The box flying from under 
his feet brought his ribaldry and profanity to a close, 
which nothing but breaking his neck would ever have 
done. 

Boone Helm, looking coolly at his quivering form, 
said, "Kick away, old fellow; I'll be in hell with you in 
a minute." He probably told the truth, for once in his 
life. He then shouted, " Every man for his principles — 
hurrah for Jeff. Davis ! Let her rip !" The sound of his 
words was echoed by the twang of the rope. 

Frank Parish requested to have a handkerchief tied 
over his face. His own black necktie, fastened in the 
road agent's knot, was taken from his throat and dropped 
over his face like a veil. He seemed serious and quiet, 
but refused to confess anything more, and was launched 
into eternity. A bystander asked the guard who ad- 
justed the rope, " Did you not feel for the poor man as 
you put the rope round his neck?" The Vigilanter, 
whose friend had been slaughtered by the road agents, 
regarded his interrogator with a stern look, and answered 
slowly, " Yes ! I felt for his left ear !" 

Haze Lyons seemed to expect a second deliverance 
from death up to the last moment, looking right and 
left at the swaying bodies of the desperadoes, his coun- 
tenance evidently indicating a hope of reprieve. Finding 
entreaty useless, he sent word to his mistress that she 
should get her gold watch, which he wore, and requested 
that his dying regards might be conveyed to her. He 
expressed a hope that she would see that his body was 
taken down, and that it was not left to hang too long. 
Also he charged her to see him decently buried. He 
died apparently without pain. The bodies, after hang- 
ing for about two hours, were cut down, and carried to 
the street, in front of the house, where their friends found 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. I $3 

them, and took them away for burial. They sleep on 
Cemetery Hill, awaiting, not the justice of man, but the 
judgment of the last day. 

The man who dug the graves intended for Stinson and 
Lyons — after their sentence of death, for the murder of 
Dillingham — received no pay, and the two murderers 
actually committed an offence revolting to all notions of 
decency, in those very graves, in derision of their judges, 
and in contempt for their power. The sexton pro tern 
was in the crowd in front of the gallows where Lyons 
paid the penalty of his crimes, and said to him, " I dug 
your grave once for nothing; this time I'll be paid, you 
bet." He received his money. 

As Jack Gallagher has not been specially referred to, 
the following short account of a transaction in which he 
was engaged, in Virginia City, is here presented: 

Near the end of 1863, Jack Gallagher, who had hitherto 
occupied the position in Montana of a promising des- 
perado — raised himself to the rank of a " big medicine 
man," among the road agents, by shooting a blacksmith, 
named Jack Temple, as fine a man as could be found 
among the trade. He did not kill him; but his good in- 
tentions were credited to him, and he was thenceforth re- 
spected as a proved brave. Temple had been shoeing 
oxen, and came up to Coleman & Loeb's saloon, to in- 
dulge in a "Thomas and Jeremiah," with some friends. 
Jack Gallagher was there. A couple of dogs began to 
fight, and Temple gave one of them a kick, saying to the 
dog, "Here, I don't want you to fight here." Jack 

said there was not a there that should kick that 

dog, and he was able to whip any man in the room. 
Temple, who, though not quarrelsome, was as brave as 
a lion, went up to him and said, "I'm not going to fight 
in here; but if you want a fight so bad, come into the 
street, and I'll give you a i lay out;' I'll fight you a square 
fight." He immediately went to the door. Jack Gal- 
lagher, seeing him so nicely planted for a shot, in a nar- 
row door-way, whipped out his pistol, and fired twice at 
him. The first ball broke his wrist. " You must do 
better than that," said Temple. "I can whip you yet." 



154 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

The words were hardly out of his mouth when the second 
ball pierced his neck, and he fell. Gallagher would have 
finished him where he lay, but his friends interfered. 
The unfortunate man said, " Boys, carry me somewhere; 
I don't want to die like a dog in the street." He re- 
mained, slowly recovering, but suffering considerably, 
for several weeks, and, at the execution of Gallagher, he 
was walking round town with his arm in a sling, greatly 
grieved at the sudden end of his antagonist. "I wish/' 
said he, "you had let him run till I got well; I would 
have settled that job myself." 

Bill Hunter and Gallagher robbed a Mormon of a 
large amount of greenbacks, which he had been foolish 
enough to display, in a saloon, in Virginia. They fol- 
lowed him down the road, on his way to Salt Lake City, 
and it is presumed they murdered him. The money was 
recognized by several while the thieves were spending it 
in town. The Mormon was never heard of more. All 
the robbers whose death has been recorded wore the 
" Cordon knot" of the band, and nearly all, if not every 
one of them, shaved to the road agent pattern. 

These executions were a fatal blow to the power of the 
band, and, henceforth, the right was the stronger side. 
The men of Nevada deserve the .thanks of the people 
of the Territory for their activity, brave conduct and 
indomitable resolution. Without their aid, the Virgin- 
ians could never have faced the roughs, or conquered 
them in their headquarters — their own town. The men 
of Summit, especially, and " up the Gulch," generally, 
were always on hand, looking business and doing it. 
Night fell on Virginia; but sleep forsook many an eye; 
while criminals of all kinds fled for their lives from the 
fatal City of the Vigilantes. 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 155 



CHAPTER XXI. 

THE DEER LODGE AND HELL GATE SCOUT — CAPTURE AND 
EXECUTION OF STEPHEN MARSHLAND, BILL BUNTON, 
CYRUS SKINNER, ALECK CARTER, JOHNNY COOPER, 
GEORGE SHEARS, ROBERT ZACHARY, AND WILLIAM 
GRAVES (WHISKEY BILL). 

" He dies and makes no sign; 
So bad a death argues a monstrous life." — Shak. 

The operations of the Vigilantes were, at this time, 
especially, planned with a judgment, and executed with 
a vigor that never has been surpassed by any body, de- 
liberative or executive. On the 15th of January, 1864, 
a party of twenty-one men left Nevada, under the com- 
mand of a citizen whose name and actions remind us of 
lightning. He was prompt, brave, irresistible (so wisely 
did he lay his plans), and struck where least expected. 

The squadron rode to Big Hole, the first day, and, 
while on the road, detached a patrol to Clarke's Ranch, 
in pursuit of Steve Marshland, who was wounded in the 
breast, when attacking Forbes's train. His feet had been 
badly frozen, and flight was impossible. Leaving the 
horses behind, one of the party (No. 84) went in to arrest 
him, after knocking four times without answer, and dis- 
covered him in company with a dog, the two being the 
sole tenants of the ranch. 

When the Vigilanter entered, he found all quite dark; 
but taking a wisp of dried grass, he groped his way 
to the fireplace, and kindled a light with a match. The 
blaze revealed Steve Marshland in bed. " Hands up, if 
you please," was the salute of his captor; and a pointed 
suggestion from one of Col. Colt's pacification agents 
caused an instant compliance with this demand. See- 
ing that he was sick he was asked what was the matter, 
and replied that he had the chills. This novel "winter 
sickness" not being accepted as a sufficient excuse, a 



156 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

further interrogatory elicited the fact that he had frozen 
his feet. "No. 84" removed two double-barrelled shot- 
guns, a yager and another rifle, from beside the bed, and 
asked him where he froze them. He said he was pros- 
pecting at the head of Rattlesnake. " Did you raise the 
'color?'" said his interrogator. " No," replied Marsh- 
land, " I could not get to the bed-rock for water." The 
party commenced cooking supper, and invited him to 
eat with them. He took a cup of coffee and was quite 
merry. After supper he was informed by the leader of 
the nature of the charge against him, viz., the robbery of 
Forbes's train. He denied having any wound, and slapped 
his breast, saying that it was "as sound as a dollar." 
Being asked if he had any objection to being examined, 
he said he had not; but the moment his shirt was lifted 
the fatal mark of guilt was visible, in the shape of a re- 
cent bullet wound. 

The prisoner was told that the evidence was complete, 
and that he must die. He then confessed, begging them 
to spare his life. He had matches and tobacco in every 
pocket of his clothes. A pole was stuck into the ground, 
and leaned over the corral; a box was placed for him to 
stand on, and, all being ready, he once more begged 
to save him, saying "have mercy on me for my youth." 
He died almost instantly. 

His feet being frozen and partially mortified, the scent 
attracted the wolves, and the party had to watch both 
him and the horses. He was buried close by. The 
patrol then started to overtake the main body, and 
coming up with them about four miles above Evans's 
Ranch, they reported the execution of Marshland. They 
had been absent only one night, leaving the command 
in the morning and rejoining them the next day. 

Up to this time the scouting party had met no one, 
but marched in double file, at the rate of from sixty to 
seventy miles per day. They kept double watch over 
the horses when camped, and lit no fires, being fearful of 
attracting notice, and of thus defeating the object of 
their journey. The men were divided into four messes, 
with a cook to each, and every party carried its own 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. !$? 

" grub" (the universal mountain word for " food"). Each 
man had a revolver, and some sported two. A shot-gun 
or a rifle was also part of the equipment. The captain 
rode foremost. A spy was despatched to reconnoitre the 
town, and to meet the party at Cottonwood Creek. He 
performed his part satisfactorily. 

When within about seventeen miles of Cottonwood, at 
Smith's Ranch, on Deer Lodge Creek, a halt was made 
about four p.m. After dark they started, and with per- 
fect quiet and caution rode to within a short distance of 
the town. They found that the robbers were gone; but, 
surrounding Bill Bunton's saloon and dwelling house, 
they proceeded to business. Bill was in his house, but 
he refused to open the door. The three men detailed 
for his arrest said they wanted to see him. For a long 
time he refused. At last he told a man named Yank and 
a young boy who was stopping with him to open the 
door. The men made him light a candle before they 
would enter. This being done Bunton's captors rushed 
in and told him that he was their prisoner. He asked 
them for what, and was told to come along and that he 
would find out. 

A Vigilanter of small stature but of great courage fas- 
tened upon him. He found, however, that he had caught 
a Tartar, so another man " piled on" (Montanice), and 
soon his arms were fast tied behind him. A guard was de- 
tailed to escort him down to Pete Martins' house, the 
rest being sent for to assist in taking Tex out of the 
saloon. 

A similar scene occurred here when the robber came 
out. He was instantly seized, pinioned, and taken down 
to keep company with his friend, Bill Bunton. 

Pete Martin was frightened out of a year's growth 
when the Vigilanters surrounded his house. He was 
playing cards with some friends, and for a long time re- 
fused to come out; but finding that, as he said, " he 
wasn't charged with nothing," he ascertained what was 
wanted, and then returned to finish his game. As the 
exigencies of the times had rendered a little hanging 
necessary in that neighborhood, he felt small concern 



158 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

about the fate of Bunton and Tex, who were of a dan- 
gerous religion. 

The party slept and breakfasted at the house. In the 
morning a stranger who was conversing with Bunton, to 
whom he was unknown, informed the Vigilantes that the 

culprit had said that "he would ' get ' one of the 

yet." On being searched a derringer was found in his 
vest pocket. As he had been carefully overhauled the 
night before it was evident that some sympathizer had 
furnished him with the weapon. He refused to confess 
anything, even his complicity in the robbery of the 
coach, where he played " pigeon." Red had testified 
that he shared the money. He also denied killing Jack 
Thomas's cattle; but Red had confessed that he him- 
self was the butcher, and that he had been hired by 
Bunton, who called him a coward when he spoke about 
the skins lying round the house, as being likely to be 
identified. 

There being no possible doubt of his criminality, the 
vote on his case was taken with the uplifted hand, and 
resulted in a unanimous verdict of guilty. 

The captain then told him that he was to be hanged, 
and that if he had any business to attend to he had bet- 
ter get some one to do it. He gave his gold watch to 
his partner, Cooke, and his other property to pay his 
debts. He had won his interest in the saloon some four- 
teen days before by gambling it from its owner. 

Tex was taken to another house and was separately 
tried. After a patient investigation the robber was 
cleared — the evidence not being sufficient to convict him. 
Had the Vigilantes held him in custody for a time Tex 
would have experienced a difficulty in his breathing that 
would have proved quickly fatal; for testimony in abun- 
dance was afterward obtained, proving conclusively that 
he was a highwayman and common thief. He made all 
sail for Kootenai, and there boasted that he would shoot 
any Vigilanter he could set eyes on. 

About two hundred and fifty feet to the left-front of 
Pete Martin's house, at the gate of Louis Demorest's 
corral, there were two upright posts and a cross-beam 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. I 59 

which looked quite natural, and appeared as if they had 
been made for Bunton. 

The prisoner was taken out and put up on a board 
supported by two boxes. He was very particular about 
the exact situation of the knot, and asked if he could 
not jump off himself. Being told that he could if he 
wished, he said that he didn't care for hanging any 
more than he did for taking a drink of water; but he 
should like to have his neck broken. He seemed quite 
satisfied when his request was granted. He continued 
to deny his guilt to the very last moment of his life, re- 
peating the password of the gang, " I am innocent." 
Two men were stationed at the board — one at each end 
— and all being ready he was asked if he had anything to 
say or any request to make. He said, " No; all I want 
is a mountain three hundred feet high to jump off." He 
said he would give the time — "one," " two," " three," 
At the word " ready," the men stationed- at the plank 
prepared to pull it from under him, if he should fail to 
jump; but he gave the signal, as he promised, and add- 
ing, "here goes it," he leaped into the embrace of death. 
The cessation of muscular contraction was almost in- 
stantaneous, and his death was accompanied by scarcely 
a perceptible struggle. 

The corral keeper's wife insisted, in terms more ener- 
getic than polite, that her husband should get the poles 
cut down. With this request he was forced to comply, 
as soon as the corpse of the road agent was removed for 
burial. 

The parties knew that the robbers were to be found at 
Hell Gate, which was so named because it was the road 
which the Indians took when on the war-path, and in- 
tent on scalping and other pleasant little amusements, 
in the line of ravishing, plundering, fire-raising, etc., for 
the exhibition of which genteel proclivities the Eastern 
folks recommend a national donation of blankets and 
supplies to keep the thing up. As independent and 
well-educated robbers, however, sedulously reared to the 
business from childhood, it must be admitted that in 
case anything is lacking, they at once proceed to supply 



l6o THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

the deficiency from the pilgrims' trains and from settlers' 
homesteads. If the Indians were left to the Vigilantes 
of Montana they would contract to change their habits 
at small cost; but an agency is too fat a thing for pet 
employees, and consequently a treaty is entered into, the 
only substantial adjunct of which is the quantity of 
presents which the Indians believe they have frightened 
out of the white men. Probably in a century or so they 
will see that our view is correct. 

On their road from Cottonwood to Hell Gate the 
troop was accompanied by Jemmy Allen, towards whose 
ranch they were directing their steps. The weather w r as 
anything but pleasant for travelling, the quantity of snow 
making it laborious work for the Vigilantes, and the cold 
was very hard to endure without shelter. At the cross- 
ing of Deer Lodge Creek the ice gave way and broke 
through with the party. It was pitch dark at the time, 
and much difficulty was experienced in getting out both 
men and horses. One cavalier was nearly drowned; but 
a lariat being put round the horse's neck it was safely 
dragged out. The rider scrambled to the bank somehow 
or other — memory furnishes the result only, not the 
detail — and jumping on to the "animal," he rode on a 
keen run to the ranch, which was some four or five miles 
ahead. 

The remainder of the cavalcade travelled on more 
leisurely, arriving there about eleven p.m., and having 
recruited a little they wrapped themselves in blankets 
and slumber without delay. 

Next morning, in company with Charley Eaton, who 
was acquainted with the country and with the folks 
around Hell Gate, they started for that locality, and 
after riding fifteen or sixteen miles through snow, 
varying in depth from two to three feet, they camped 
for the night. The horses being used to foraging, 
pawed for their food. 

The next morning the party crossed the bridge, and 
rode to the workmen's quarters on the Mullan Wagon 
Road, where, calling a halt, they stopped all night. Ac- 
cidents will happen in the best-regulated families, and in 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. l6l 

a venter scout in the wilds of Montana casualties must 
be expected as a matter of course. The best mountain- 
eer is the man who most quickly and effectually repairs 
damages, or finds a substitute for the missing article. 
While driving the ponies into camp one of them put his 
foot into a hole and broke his leg. As there was no 
chance to attend to him he was at once shot. Another 
cayuse by a similar accident stripped all the skin off his 
hind legs from the hough down. He was turned loose 
to await the return of the expedition. 

At daylight the troop were in their saddles and push- 
ing as rapidly as possible for the village. On arriving 
within six miles of the place the command halted on the 
bank of a small creek till after dark, to avoid being seen 
on the road. As soon as night threw her mantle over 
the scene, they continued their journey till within two 
hundred yards of Hell Gate, and there dismounting 
they tied their horses. 

Their scout had gone ahead to reconnoitre, and, re- 
turning to the rendezvous, he informed the captain of 
the exact position of affairs. Coming through the town 
on a tight run, they mistook the houses; but, discover- 
ing their error, they soon returned, and surrounding 
Skinner's saloon, the owner, who was standing at the 
door, was ordered to throw up his hands. His woman 
(Nelly) did not appear to be pleased at the command, 
and observed that they must have learned that from the 
Bannack stage folks. 

Skinner was taken and bound immediately. Some of 
the men went for Aleck Carter, who was in Miller's, the 
next house. Dan Harding opened the door, and seeing 
Carter, said, " Aleck, is that you ?" to which the road 
agent promptly replied "Yes." The men levelled their 
pieces at him, and the leader, going over to the lounge 
on which he was lying, rather drunk, took his pistol 
from him and bound him, before he was thoroughly 
aroused. When he came to himself, he said, " This is 
tight papers, ain't it, boys?" He then asked for asmoke, 
which being given to him, he inquired for the news. 
On hearing of the hanging of the blood-stained mis- 



l62 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA, 

creants whose doom has been recorded in these pages, 
he said, "All right; not an innocent man hung yet." 

He was marched down under guard, to Higgins's store, 
where he and Skinner were tried, the examination last- 
ing about three hours. Skinner's woman came down, 
bent on interference in his behalf. The lady was sent 
home with a guard, who found Johnny Cooper lying 
wounded in the house. He had been shot in three 
places by Carter, whom he had accused of stealing his 
pistol. He was, of course, instantly secured. 

Some of the guard happening to remark that Johnny 
seemed to be suffering " pretty bad," the lady expressed 
a conviction, with much force and directness, that " by 

, there were two outside suffering a sight 

worse" (meaning Skinner and Aleck Carter). 

Cooper was one of the lieutenants of the gang. He 
was a splendid horseman, and a man named President, 
who was present at his apprehension, knew him well on 
the " other side." He had murdered a man, and being 
arrested, was on his way to the court, when he suddenly 
broke from his captors, leaped with a bound on to a 
horse standing ready, and was off like a bird. Though 
at least one hundred shots were sent after him, he es- 
caped uninjured, and got clear away. 

While Aleck Carter was on trial, he confessed that the 
two mules of which Nicholas Tbalt was in charge, when 
shot by Ives, were at Irwin's Ranch, at Big Hole, and 
that he, Irwin and Ives had brought them there. It will 
be remembered that, besides robbing the coach, Aleck 
was accessory both before and after the fact of Tbalt's 
murder. This was proved. That he was a principal in 
its perpetration is more than likely. He denied all par- 
ticipation in the murder, but confessed, generally speak- 
ing, much in the same style as others had done. 

Skinner also refused to confess any of his crimes. 
" Dead men tell no tales" was his verdict, when planning 
the murder of Magruder, and he it was who ingratiated 
himself into the favor of Page, Romaine and others, and 
prompted them to the deed, so that Magruder thought 
his murderers were his friends, and went on his last 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 163 

journey without suspicion. He said he could have saved 
him, if he had liked; but he added that he "would have 

seen him in first." He wouldn't leave himself open 

to the vengeance of the band. He was a hardened, merci- 
less and brutal fiend. 

The same night a detachment of eight men went in 
pursuit of Bob Zachary, and coming up to Barney 
O'Keefe's, that gentleman appeared in the uniform of a 
Georgia major, minus the spurs and shirt collar, and plus 
a flannel blouse. He mistook the party for road agents^ 
and appeared to think his time had come. He ejacu- 
lated, with visible horror, "Don't shoot, gentlemen; I'm 
Barney O'Keefe." It is useless to say that no harm was 
done to the "Baron," as he is called. There are worse 
men living in all countries than Barney, who is a good 
soul in his own way, and hospitable in his nature. Find- 
ing that Bob Zachary was inside, one of the party en- 
tered, and, as he sat up in bed, threw himself upon him, 
and pushed him backwards. He had a pistol and a 
knife. He was taken to Hell Gate shortly after his cap- 
ture. The fate of his friends was made known to him, 
and vouched for by a repetition of the signs, grips, pass- 
words, etc. On seeing this he turned pale; but he never 
made any confession of guilt. He was the one of the 
stage robbers who actually took the money from South- 
mayde. Like all the rest, he repeated the pass-word of 
the gang, "I am innocent." 

On the road back the guard had wormed out of 
Barney that a stranger was stopping at Van Dorn's, in 
the Bitter Root Valley. " No. 84," who was leading the 
party who captured Shears, asked, " Does Van live here?" 
"Yes," said the man himself. "Is George Shears in 
your house ?" asked 84. "Yes," said Van. "Where is 
he?" "In the next room." "'Any objection to our go- 
ing in ?" The man replied by opening the door of the 
room, on which George became visible, knife in hand. 
He gave himself up quietly, and seemed so utterly indif- 
ferent to death that he perfectly astonished his captors. 
Taking a walk with 84, he pointed out to him the stolen 
horses in the corral, and confessed his guilt, as a man 



164 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

would speak of the weather. He said, " I knew I should 
have to go up, some time; but I thought I could run 
another season. " When informed of his doom, he ap- 
peared perfectly satisfied. On being taken into the 
barn, where a rope was thrown over a beam, he was 
asked to walk up a ladder, to save trouble about pro- 
curing a drop. He at once complied, addressing his 
captors in the following unique phraseology, " Gentle- 
men, I am not used to this business, never having been 
hung before. Shall I jump off or slide off ?" Being told 
to jump off, he said "All right; good-by," and leaped 
into the air with as much sang froid as if bathing. 

The drop was long and the rope tender. It slowly un- 
twisted, and Shears hung, finally, by a single strand. 
George's parting question was, for a long time, a by- 
word among the Vigilantes. 

A company of three, headed by the " old man," started 
off to Fort Owen, in the Bitter Root Valley, in pursuit 
of Whiskey Bill (Bill Graves, the coach robber). This 
worthy was armed and on the look-out for his captors; 
but, it seems, he had become partially snow-blind by 
long gazing. At all events, he did not see the party with 
sufficient distinctness to ascertain who they were, until 
the " old man" jumped from his horse and covered him 
with his revolver. He gave up, though he had repeat- 
edly sworn that he would shoot any Vigilanter 

who w T ould come his way. His guilt was notorious 
throughout all the country, and his capture was merely 
a preliminary to his execution. The men took him away 
from the Fort, in deference to the prejudices of the 
Indians, who would have felt no desire to live near where 
a man had been hanged. Graves made no confession. 
He was w T hat is called in the mountains a " bull-head, " 
and was a sulky, dangerous savage. Being tied up to a 
limb, the difficulty was to make a "drop;" but the in- 
genuity of the leader was equal to the emergency. One 
of the men mounted his horse; Graves was lifted up be- 
hind him, and, all being ready, "Good-by, Bill," said 
the front horseman, driving his huge rowels into the 
horse's flanks as he spoke. The animal made a plung- 



THE VIGILANTES OE MONTANA. 1 65 

ing bound of twelve feet, and Bill Graves, swept from his 
seat by the fatal noose and lariat, swung lifeless. His 
neck was broken by the shock. 

The different parties rendezvoused at Hell Gate, and 
a company of ' eight men were despatched to the Pen 
d'Oreille Reserve, to get Johnny Cooper's horses, six or 
seven in number. They were poor in condition, and 
were nearly all sold to pay the debts which the road 
agent had incurred in the country round about the 
village. The remainder were brought to Nevada. It 
seems that Aleck Carter and Cooper were about to start 
for Kootenai, on the previous day, and that their journey 
was prevented only by their quarrel about the pistol, 
which Cooper charged Aleck with stealing, and which 
resulted in the wounding of Cooper, the delay of their 
journey, and, in fact, in their execution. A pack animal 
laden with their baggage and provisions carried $130 
worth of goods. These were taken for the use of the ex- 
pedition; but, on a representation made by Higgins that 
he had supplied them to Carter to get rid of him, but 
that he had received nothing for them, they were paid 
for, on the spot, by the Vigilantes. 

There had been a reign of terror in Hell Gate. The 
robbers did as they pleased, took what they chose. A 
Colt's revolver was the instrument ever ready to enforce 
the transfer. Brown, a Frenchman, living in the neigh- 
borhood, stated to the Vigilantes, that he was glad to 
see them, for that the robbers used to ride his stock 
whenever they pleased, and that they always retained 
possession of such steeds as they especially fancied. 

Cooper had determined to marry his daughter, a 
pretty half-breed girl, and then, after getting all that he 
could lay hands on, he intended to turn the old man 
adrift. He used to go to his intended father-in-law 
and inform him that he wanted another of those pretty 
pocket pieces ($20 gold pieces), and he always obtained 
what he asked; for death would have been the instant 
penalty of refusal. Other parties had supplied Cooper 
and Carter with money, pistols and whatever else they 
asked, for the same potent and unanswerable reasons. 



1 66 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

Any demand for payment was met by a threat to shoot 
the creditor. 

At the conclusion of the trials of Carter and Skinner, 
a vote was taken by stepping to the opposite sides of the 
room; but the verdict of guilty, and a judgment of death 
to the culprits were unanimously rendered. 

Cooper was tried separately, and interrogated by Mr. 
President concerning his conduct on the " other side." 
He denied the whole thing; but this gentleman's testi- 
mony, the confession of Red, and the witness of the in- 
habitants rendered a conviction and sentence of death 
inevitable. 

Carter and Skinner were taken to Higgins's corral and 
executed by torchlight, shortly after midnight. Two 
poles were planted, leaning over the corral fence; to 
these the ropes were tied, and store-boxes served for 
" drops." 

On the road to the gallows Cyrus Skinner broke sud- 
denly from the guard, and ran off, shouting, " Shoot ! 
shoot !" His captors were too old hands to be thus baf- 
fled. They instantly secured him. He again tried the 
trick when on the box; but he was quickly put up and 
held there till the rope was adjusted. This being fin- 
ished he was informed that he could jump whenever he 
pleased. Aleck seemed ashamed of Skinner's attempt to 
escape, which the latter explained by saying that he 
"was not born to be hanged " — a trifling error. 

While on the stand one of the men asked Carter to 
confess his share in the murder of the Dutchman; but 
he burst forth with a volley of oaths, saying, " If I had 

my hands free, you , I'd make you take that back." 

As Skinner was talking by his side, Aleck was ordered 
to keep quiet. "Well, then, let's have a smoke," said 
he. His request being granted, he became more pacific 
in demeanor. The criminals' faces being covered with 
handkerchiefs, they were launched into eternity, with 
the pass-word of the gang upon their lips, "I am inno- 
cent." Both died easily and at once. The people had 
of their own accord made all the preparations for their 
burial. 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 167 

Immediately after the execution, the parties were de- 
tailed and despatched after Zachary, Graves and Shears. 
The death of the last two has been recorded. 

The squad that arrested Zachary returned between 
seven and eight o'clock that morning. He was at once 
tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death. By his di- 
rection a letter was written to his mother, in which he 
warned his brothers and sisters to avoid drinking whis- 
key, card playing, and bad company, which, he said, had 
brought him to the gallows. Zachary once lay in wait 
for Pete Daley and snapped two caps at him; but, fortu- 
nately, the weapon would not go off. 

Being brought to the same spot as that on which 
Skinner and Carter were hanged, he commenced praying 
to God to forgive the Vigilantes for what they were doing, 
for it was a pretty good way to clear the country of 
road agents. He died at once without any apparent 
fear or pain. 

Johnny Cooper was hauled down on a sleigh, by hand, 
owing to his leg being w T ounded, and was placed on 
the same box that Skinner had stood upon. He asked 
for his pipe, saying he wanted a good smoke, and he 
enjoyed it very much. A letter had been written to his 
parents in York State. Cooper dodged the noose for a 
time, but being told to keep his head straight, he sub- 
mitted. He died without a struggle. 

During the trial of the men, the people had made 
Cooper's coffin, and dug his grave; Zachary was buried 
by the Vigilantes. The other malefactor the citizens 
knew better and hated worse. 

Skinner left all his property to Higgins, the store- 
keeper, from whom he had received all his stock on credit. 
Aleck had nothing but his horse, his accoutrements and 
his appointments. 

Their dread mission of retribution being accom- 
plished, the captain ordered everything to be made 
ready for their long homeward march, and in due time 
they arrived at Cottonwood, where they found that 
X had settled everything relating to Bunton's affairs. 
At Big Hole they made search for Irwin; but he had fled, 



168 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA, 

and has never been taken. Tired and worn, the com- 
mand reached Nevada, and received the congratulations 
and thanks of all good men. Like Joshua's army, 
though they had been rewarded with success, yet often 
in that journey over their cold and trackless waste the 
setting sun had seen them 

" Faint, yet pursuing." 



CHAPTER XXII. 

CAPTURE AND EXECUTION OF BILL HUNTER. 

" Round he throws his baleful eyes, 
That witness naught but huge destruction and dismay." — : Milton. 

At the time of the execution of Boone Helm and his 
four confederates in crime, Bill Hunter, as before nar- 
rated, managed to escape his pursuers and for a time to 
baffle the vengeance of the Vigilantes by hiding among 
the rocks and brush by day, and then seeking food at 
night among the scattered settlements in the vicinity of 
the Gallatin River. 

At the time of Barney Hughes's stampede, the country 
in the neighborhood became alive with men, and his 
whereabouts was discovered. Information was received 
at Virginia that he was living as described about twenty 
miles above the mouth of the Gallatin. A severe snow 
storm had driven him to seek refuge in a cabin, near the 
place of his concealment, and here he was overtaken and 
captured. 

A party of four resolute men volunteered for the 
work, and left Virginia City with a good prospect of 
fine weather for the trip before them. Crossing the 
Divide between the Stinkingwater and the Madison, 
they forded the last-named river with some difficulty, 
the huge cakes of floating ice striking the horses' flanks 
and threatening to carry them down. Their camping 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 1 69 

ground was the frozen earth on its banks; and having 
built a fire, they lay down to sleep with no shelter but 
their blankets.. Though the weather was intensely cold, 
the spirits of the party never flagged, and they derived 
not a little amusement from occurrences which, under 
other circumstances, would have been regarded as any- 
thing but amusing incidents of travel. 

One of the Vigilantes, determined on securing a good 
share of heat, lay with his head on the top of a hillock 
that sloped towards the fire, and, as a natural conse- 
quence, gradually slid down, till he woke with his feet 
in the hot embers. His position was changed with mar- 
vellous rapidity, amid the laughter of his comrades. 

Another of the party had a pair of mammoth socks, 
into which he thrust his feet loosely. As the sleeper 
began to feel the cold, he kept pushing his feet into the 
socks, until he pushed himself out of bed, and woke 
half frozen. He glanced with a comic expression at the 
cause of his misfortunes, and taking a good warm at the 
fire in a more legitimate fashion, he crept back to bed. 

Early in the morning the men rose from their slum- 
bers, renewed their fire, and while some cooked, others 
hunted up the stock. Soon all was prepared, and de- 
spatched with a mountaineer's appetite; the horses were 
saddled and they departed on their mission. The weather 
had changed very much for the worse. At about ten 
o'clock a fierce snow storm, driven by a furious wind, 
blew right in their faces; but as the tempest was a most 
useful auxiliary towards the success of their enterprise, 
they pushed on, hour after hour, and at two p.m. reached 
the Milk Ranch, about twenty miles from the place where 
they expected to find their game. Here they stayed for 
supper, and engaged a guide who knew the country 
Veil, and was acquainted with the locality of the rob- 
bers' city of refuge. Being warmed and refreshed, they 
started at a rapid pace, which was continued until, at 
midnight, they drew bridle near a lone cabin, into which 
they felt certain that the severity of the storm had 
driven the object of their journey. 

Having halted and unsaddled, they rapped loudly at 



170 THE VIGILANTES 0E MONTANA, 

the door. When it was opened, the gentleman who pre- 
sented himself took a view of the party, which, with the 
guide and a gentleman who had joined them, numbered 
six individuals. " Good evening," was the salutation of 
the travellers. Sleep, suspicion, and an uneven temper, 
probably, jointly provoked the response, "Don't know 
whether it is or not." However, at their request, he soon 
had a fire blazing on the hearth, which the party thor- 
oughly enjoyed, after their long ride. Before allowing 
themselves to be thus even temporarily luxurious, they had 
carefully inspected the premises and, as the lawyers say, 
all the appendages and appurtenances thereunto belong- 
ing; when, having found that the only practicable method 
of egress was by the door, a couple of them lay down in 
such a manner, when they retired to rest, that any one 
trying to escape must inevitably wake them. Six shot- 
guns constituted half a dozen weighty arguments against 
forcible attempts at departure, and the several minor 
and corroborative persuasions of a revolving class com- 
pleted a clear case of " stand off," under all circum- 
stances. 

A sentry was placed to see that nobody adopted the 
plan of " evaporation" patented by Santa Claus, that is 
to say, by ascent of the chimney. His duty, also, was to 
keep up a bright fire, and the room being tenanted to its 
utmost capacity, all promised an uninterrupted night's 
slumber. 

A very cursory inspection of the interior of the prem- 
ises had satisfied the Vigilantes that the occupants of 
the cabin were three in number. Of these, two were 
visible; but one remained covered up in bed, and never 
stirred till the time of their departure in the morning. 
The curiosity of the inmates being roused by the sudden 
advent of the travellers, questions as to their names, 
residences, occupation and intentions were freely pro- 
pounded, and were answered with a view to " business" 
exclusively. Before turning over to sleep, the party 
conversationally descanted on mining, stampeding, pros- 
pecting, runs, panning-out, and all the technical maga- 
zine of mining phrases was ransacked with a view to 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. I 1 /! 

throwing their hosts off the trail. In this they succeeded. 
All was quiet during the night, and until a late hour in 
the morning. Every one of the friends of justice had 
exchanged private signals by Vigilante telegraph, and 
were satisfied that all w r as right. 

Nothing was said about the real object of their visit, 
until the horses were saddled for the apparent purpose 
of continuing the journey. Two only went out at a time, 
and the mute eloquence of the shot-guns in the corner 
was as effective in the morning as it had been at mid- 
night. 

When all was ready, one of the party asked who was 
the unknown sleeper that, at that late hour, had never 
waked or uncovered his face. The host said that he 
did not know; but upon being asked, " when did he come 
here?" he informed them that he had come at the begin- 
ning of the great snow storm, and had been there two 
days. 

The man was requested to describe his person and ap- 
pearance. He complied at once, and in so doing he 
gave a perfect picture of Bill Hunter. 

With arms prepared for instant service, the Vigilantes 
approached the bed, and the leader called out, " Bill 
Hunter !" The occupant of the bed hastily drew the 
covering from his face, and wildly asked who was there. 
His eyes were greeted with the sight of six well-armed 
men, whose determined countenances and stern looks 
told him only too truly the nature of their errand. Had 
he been in doubt, however, this matter would soon have 
been settled; for the six shot-guns levelled at his head 
were answer enough to palsy the arm of grim despair 
himself. On being asked if he had any arms, he said, 
" Yes, I have a revolver;" and accordingly he handed it 
from beneath the bed-clothes, where he had held it, lying 
on his breast, ready cocked for use. The old Vigilanter 
who made the inquiries, not being very soft or easily 
caught at a disadvantage, took the precaution when ap- 
proaching him to lay his hand on his breast, so that, had 
he been willing, he could have done nothing; for his 
weapon was mastered while his hand was covered. He 



IJ2 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

was, of course, informed that he was a prisoner, upon 
hearing which he at once asked to be taken to Virginia 
City. One of the men gave him to understand that he 
would be taken there. He further inquired whether 
there was any conveyance for him, and was told that 
there was a horse for him to ride. 

He rose from his bed, ready dressed for the occasion 
except his overcoat and hat, and mounted the horse pre- 
pared for him; but, upon preparing to take the rein, his 
motion was politely negatived, and the bridle was handed 
to a horseman who held it as a leading bridle. He 
looked suspiciously round, and appeared much per- 
turbed when he saw a footman following, for he at once 
guessed that it was his horse that he was riding, and the 
incident seemed to be regarded by him in the light of an 
omen foreboding a short journey for him. His con- 
science told him what was likely to be the end of his 
arrest. The real reason why an evasive answer had 
been given to the prisoner, when he expressed a wish to 
be taken to Virginia City, was that his captors were 
anxious to leave the place without exciting suspicion 
of any intention to execute Bill Hunter, in the neighbor- 
hood. 

The escort proceeded on their way homewards for 
about two miles, and halted at the foot of a tree which 
seemed as if it had been fashioned by nature for a gal- 
lows. A horizontal limb at a convenient height was there 
for the rope, and on the trunk was a spur like a belaying 
pin, on which to fasten the end. Scraping away about 
a foot of snow, they camped, lit a fire and prepared their 
breakfast. An onlooker would never have conjectured 
for a moment that anything of a serious nature was 
likely to occur, and even Hunter seemed to have forgot- 
ten his fears, laughing and chatting gayly with the rest. 

After breakfast a consultation was held as to what 
should be done with the road agent, and after hearing 
what was offered by the members of the scouting party, 
individually, the leader put the matter to vote. It was 
decided by the majority that the prisoner should not go to 
Virginia, but that he should be executed then and there. 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 1 73 

The man who had given Hunter to understand that he 
would be taken to Virginia, voted for the carrying out 
of this part of the programme, but he was overruled. 

The earnest manner of the Vigilantes, and his own 
sense of guilt, overpowered Hunter; he turned deadly 
pale, and faintingly asked for water. He knew, without 
being told, that there was no hope for him. A brief his- 
tory of his crimes was related to him by one of the men, 
and the necessity of the enforcement of the penalty was 
pointed out to him. All was too true for denial. He 
merely requested that his friends should know nothing 
of the manner of his death, and stated that he had no 
property; but he hoped they would give him a decent 
burial. He was told that every reasonable request would 
be granted; but that the ground was too hard for them 
to attempt his interment without proper implements. 
They promised that his friends should be made ac- 
quainted with his execution, and that they would see 
to that. Soon after, he shook hands with each of the 
company, and said that he did not blame them for what 
they were about to do. 

His arms w r ere pinioned at the elbows; the fatal noose 
was placed round his neck, and the end of the rope being 
thrown over the limb, the men took hold and with a 
quick, strong pull ran him up off his feet. He died 
almost without a struggle; but, strange to say, he reached 
as if for his pistol, and went through the pantomime of 
cocking and discharging his revolver six times. This is 
no effort of fancy. Every one present saw it, and was 
equally convinced of the fact. It was a singular instance 
of " the ruling passion, strong in death." 

The place of the execution was a lone tree, in full view 
of the travellers on the trail, about twenty miles above 
the mouth of the Gullatin. The corpse of the malefactor 
was left hanging from the limb, and the little knot of 
horsemen was soon but a speck in the distance. The 
purpose of the Barney Hughes stampede had been ac- 
complished. So secretly had everything been managed 
that one of the four who started from Virginia did not 
know either the real destination of the party, or the 



174 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

errand of the other three. He was found to be sound 
on the road agent question; and, instead of being dis- 
missed he rode on as one of the party. 

It seemed as if fate had decreed the death of Bill Hun- 
ter. He was a man of dauntless courage, and would 
have faced a hundred men to the last, being a perfect 
desperado when roused, though ordinarily peaceful in 
demeanor. At his capture he was as weak as a child, 
and had scarcely strength to ask for what he wanted. 

The only remarkable circumstance attending the return 
journey was the inconvenience and pain caused by the 
reflection of the sun's rays from the snow. It produced 
temporary blindness, and was only relieved by blacking 
their faces. Riding late at night, one of the horsemen 
dismounted with a view of easing his steed, which was 
tired with the long march, and walked some distance by 
his side. On getting again into the saddle he accident- 
ally discharged his gun, which was slung, muzzle down 
by his side. The charge passed down the leg of his boot 
between the counter and the lining, lodging an ounce 
ball and six buckshot in the heel. All started at the sud- 
den flash and report. The man himself believed that 
his foot was shot to pieces, and they spurred forward at 
hot speed for the next ranch, where an examination re- 
vealed the above state of facts, much to the consolation 
of the excited mind of the owner of the boot. He was 
wounded only in spirit, and reached home safely. 

One of the Vigilantes " bagged" a relic. He had 
promised to bring back a token of having seen Bill Hun- 
ter, either dead or alive, and, accordingly, while talking 
to him at the fire, he managed to detach a button from 
his coat, which he fetched home as he had promised. 

Some days after men who were hauling wood discov- 
ered the body, and determined to give it burial. It was 
necessary to get the corpse over a snow-drift; so they 
tied a rope to the heels, and essayed to drag it up; but 
finding that this was the wrong way of the grain, as they 
said, they replaced the noose round the neck, and thus 
having pulled him over, they finally consigned to mother 
earth the last of Henry Plummer s Band. 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 1 75 

Bill Hunter was, we have said, the last of the old road 
agent band that met death at the hands of the Com- 
mittee. He was executed on the 3d of February, 1864. 
There was now no openly organized force of robbers in 
the Territory, and the future acts of the Committee were 
confined to taking measures for the maintenance of the 
public tranquillity, and the punishment of those guilty 
of murder, robbery and other high crimes and misde- 
meanors against the welfare of the inhabitants of Mon- 
tana. 

On looking back at the dreadful state of society which 
necessitated the organization of the Vigilantes, and on 
reading these pages, many will learn for the first time 
the deep debt of gratitude which they owe to that just 
and equitable body of self-denying and gallant men. It 
was a dreadful and a disgusting duty that devolved upon 
them; but it was a duty, and they did it. Far less 
worthy actions have been rewarded by the thanks of 
Congress, and medals glitter on many a bosom, whose 
owner won them lying flat behind a hillock, out of range 
of the enemy's fire. The Vigilantes, for the sake of their 
country, encountered popular dislike, the envenomed 
hatred of the bad, and the cold toleration of some of 
the unwise good. Their lives they held in their hands. 
" All's well that ends well." Montana is saved, and they 
saved it, earning the blessings of future generations, 
whether they receive them or not. Our next chapter 
will record the execution of the renowned Capt. J. A. 
Slade, of whom more good and evil stories have been 
told, than would make a biography for the seven cham- 
pions of Christendom, and concerning whose life and 
character there have been more contradictory opinions 
expressed, than have been uttered for or against any 
other individual that has figured in the annals of the 
Rocky Mountains, 



176 THE VIGILANTES OF MO XT AX A. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE ARREST AND EXECUTION OF CAPTAIN J. A. SLADE, WITH 
A SHORT ACCOUNT OF HIS PREVIOUS CAREER. 

11 Some write him hero, some a very knave; 
Curses and tears are mingled at his grave." — Anon. 

J. A. Slade, or, as he was often called, Captain Slade, 
was raised in Clinton County, 111., and was a member of 
a highly respectable family. He bore a good character 
for several years in that place. The acts which have 
given so wide a celebrity to his name were performed es- 
pecially on the Overland Line, of which he was for years 
an official. Reference to these matters will be made in a 
subsequent part of this chapter. 

Captain J. A. Slade came to Virginia City in the 
spring of 1863. He was a man gifted with the power 
of making money, and when free from the influence of 
alcoholic stimulants, which seemed to reverse his nature, 
and to change a kind-hearted and intelligent gentleman 
into a reckless demon, no man in the Territory had a 
greater faculty of attracting the favorable notice of even 
strangers, and in spite of the wild lawlessness which 
characterized his frequent spells of intoxication, he had 
many, very many friends whom no commission of crime 
itself could detach from his personal companionship. 
Another and less desirable class of friends were attracted 
by his very recklessness. There are probably a thou- 
sand individuals in the West possessing a correct knowl- 
edge of the leading incidents of a career that terminated 
at the gallows, who still speak of Slade as a perfect gen- 
tleman, and who not only lament his death, but talk in 
the highest terms of his character, and pronounce his 
execution a murder. One way of accounting for the 
diversity of opinion regarding Slade is sufficiently obvi- 
ous. Those who saw him in his natural state only 
would pronounce him to be a kind husband, a most hos- 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 1 77 

pitable host and a courteous gentleman. On the con- 
trary, those who met him when maddened with liquor 
and surrounded by a gang of armed roughs, would pro- 
nounce him a fiend incarnate. 

During the summer of 1863 he went to Milk River as a 
freighter. For this business he was eminently qualified, 
and he made a great deal of money. Unfortunately his 
habit of profuse expenditure was uncontrollable, and at 
the time of his execution he was deeply in debt almost 
everywhere. 

After the execution of the five men on the 14th of 
January the Vigilantes considered that their work was 
nearly ended. They had freed the country from high- 
waymen and murderers to a great extent, and they de- 
termined that in the absence of the regular civil author 
ity they would establish a People's Court, where all 
offenders should be tried by judge and jury. This was 
the nearest approach to social order that the circum- 
stances permitted, and though strict legal authority was 
wanting yet the people were firmly determined to mam- 
tain its efficiency and to enforce its decrees. It may here 
be mentioned that the overt act which was the last round 
on the fatal ladder leading to the scaffold on which 
Slade perished, was the tearing in pieces and stamping 
upon a writ of this court, followed by the arrest of the 
judge, Alex. Davis, by authority of a presented derringer 
and with his own hands. 

J. A. Slade was himself, we have been informed, aVigi- 
lanter; he openly boasted of it, and said he knew all that 
they knew. He was never accused or even suspected of 
either murder or robbery committed in this Territory 
(the latter crimes were never laid to his charge in any 
place); but that he had killed several men in other locali- 
ties was notorious, and his bad reputation in this re- 
spect was a most powerful argument in determining his 
fate, when he was finally arrested for the offence above 
mentioned. On returning from Milk River he became 
more and more addicted to drinking; until at last it 
was a common feat for him and his friends to "take the 
town." He and a couple of his dependants might often 



178 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

be seen on one horse, galloping through the streets, 
shouting and yelling, firing revolvers, etc. On many 
occasions he would ride his horse into stores; break up 
bars; toss the scales out of doors, and use most insult- 
ing language to parties present. Just previous to the 
day of his arrest he had given a fearful beating to one 
of his followers; but such was his influence over them 
that the man wept bitterly at the gallows, and begged 
for his life with all his power. It had become quite 
common when Slade was on a spree for the shopkeep- 
ers and citizens to close the stores and put out all 
the lights; being fearful of some outrage at his hands. 
One store in Nevada he never ventured to enter — that 
of the Lott brothers — as they had taken care to let him 
know that any attempt of the kind would be followed 
by his sudden death, and though he often rode down 

there, threatening to break in and raise , yet 

he never attempted to carry his threat into execution. 
For his wanton destruction of goods and furniture he 
was always ready to pay when sober if he had money; 
but there were not a few who regarded payment as 
small satisfaction for the outrage, and these men were 
his personal enemies. 

From time to time, Slade received warnings from men 
that he well knew would not deceive him, of the certain 
end of his conduct. There was not a moment, for weeks 
previous to his arrest, in which the public did not expect 
to hear of some bloody outrage. The dread of his very 
name, and the presence of the armed bana of hangers-on 
who followed him, alone prevented a resistance which 
must certainly have ended in the instant murder or mu- 
tilation of the opposing party. 

Slade was frequently arrested by order of the court 
whose organization we have described, and had treated 
it with respect by paying one or two fines, and promising 
to pay the rest when he had money ; but in the transac- 
tion that occurred at this crisis, he forgot even this cau- 
tion, and goaded by passion and the hatred of restraint, 
he sprang into the embrace of death. 

Slade had been drunk and " cutting up" all night. He 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 1 79 

and his companions had made the town a perfect hell. 
In the morning, J. M. Fox, the Sheriff, met him, arrested 
him, took him into court, and commenced reading a 
warrant that he had for his arrest, by way of arraign- 
ment. ■ He became uncontrollably furious, and seizing 
the writ, he tore it up, threw it on the ground, and 
stamped upon it. The clicking of the locks of 
his companions revolvers' was instantly heard and 
a crisis was expected. The Sheriff did not attempt 
his capture ; but being at least as prudent as he was 
valiant, he succumbed, leaving Slade the master of 
the situation, and the conqueror and ruler of the 
courts, law and law-makers. This was a declaration of 
war, and was so accepted. The Vigilance Committee 
now felt that the question of social order and the pre- 
ponderance of the law-abiding citizens had then and there 
to be decided. They knew the character of Slade, and 
they were well aware that they must submit to his rule 
without murmur, or else that he must be dealt with in 
such fashion as would prevent his being able to wreak 
his vengeance on the Committee, who could never have 
hoped to live in the Territory secure from outrage or 
death, and who could never leave it without encounter- 
ing his friends, whom his victory would have emboldened 
and stimulated to a pitch that would have rendered them 
reckless of consequences. The day previous, he had rid- 
den into Dorris's store, and on being requested to leave, 
he drew his revolver and threatened to kill the gentle- 
man who spoke to him. Another saloon he had led his 
horse into, and buying a bottle of wine, he tried to make 
the animal drink it. This was not considered an uncom- 
mon performance, as he had often entered saloons, and 
commenced firing at the lamps, causing a wild stam- 
pede. 

A leading member of the Committee met Slade, and in- 
formed him in the quiet, earnest manner of one who feels 
the importance of what he is saying, " Slade, get your 

horse at once, and go home, or there will be to pay." 

Slade started and took a long look with his dark and 
piercing eyes ? at the gentleman — "What do you mean ?'' 



l8o THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

said he. " You have no right to ask me what I mean," 
was the quiet reply, " get your horse at once, and remem- 
ber what I tell you." After a short pause he promised 
to do so, and actually got into the saddle ; but, being 
still intoxicated, he began calling aloud to one after an- 
other of his friends, and at last seemed to have forgot- 
ten the warning he had received and became again up- 
roarious, shouting the name of a well-known prostitute 
in company with those of two men whom he considered 
heads of the Committee, as a sort of challenge ; perhaps, 
however, as a single act of bravado. It seems probable 
that the intimation of personal danger he had received 
had not been forgotten entirely ; though, fatally for him, 
he took a foolish way of showing his remembrance of it. 
He sought out Alexander Davis, the Judge of the Court, 
and drawing a cocked derringer, he presented it at his 
head, and told him that he should hold him as a hostage 
for his own safety. As the Judge stood perfectly quiet, 
and offered no resistance to his captor, no further out- 
rage followed on this score. Previous to this, on account 
of the critical state of affairs, the Committee had met, 
and at last resolved to arrest him. His execution had 
not been agreed upon, and, at that time, would have 
been negatived, most assuredly. A messenger rode 
down to Nevada to inform the leading men of what was 
on hand, as it was desirable to show that there was a 
feeling of unanimity on the subject, all along the Gulch. 
The miners turned out almost en masse, leaving their 
work and forming in solid column, about six hundred 
strong, armed to the teeth, they marched up to Virginia. 
The leader of the body well knew the temper of his men 
on the subject. He spurred on ahead of them, and has- 
tily calling a meeting of the Executive, he told them 
plainly that the miners meant " business," and that, if 
they came up, they would not stand in the street to be 
shot down by Slade's friends ; but that they would take 
him and hang him. The meeting w T as small, as the Vir- 
ginia men were loath to act at all. This momentous an- 
nouncement of the feeling of the Lower Town was made 
to a cluster of men, who were deliberating behind a 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. l8l 

wagon, at the rear of a store on Main street, where the 
Ohlinghouse stone building now stands. 

The Committee were most unwilling to proceed to ex- 
tremities. All the duty they had ever performed seemed 
as nothing to the task before them ; but they had to de- 
cide, and that quickly. It was finally agreed that if the 
whole body of the miners were of the opinion that he 
should be hanged, the Committee left it in their hands 
to deal with him. Off, at hot speed, rode the leader of 
the Nevada men to join his command. 

Slade had found out what was intended, and the news 
sobered him instantly. He went into P. S. Pfout's store, 
where Davis was, and apologized for his conduct, saying 
that he would take it all back. 

The head of the column now wheeled into Wallace 
street and marched up at quick time. Halting in front 
of the store, the executive officer of the Committee 
stepped forward and arrested Slade, who w T as at once in- 
formed of his doom, and inquiry was made as to whether 
he had any business to settle. Several parties spoke to 
him on the subject ; but to all such inquiries he turned a 
deaf ear, being entirely absorbed in the terrifying reflec- 
tions on his own awful position. He never ceased his 
entreaties for life, and to see his dear wife. The unfor- 
tunate lady referred to, between whom and Slade there 
existed a warm affection, was at this time living at their 
ranch on the Madison. She was possessed of considera- 
ble personal attractions ; tall, well-formed, of graceful 
carriage, pleasing manners, and was, withal, an accom- 
plished horsewoman. 

A messenger from Slade rode at full speed to inform 
her of her husband's arrest. In an instant she was in 
the saddle, and with all the energy that love and despair 
could lend to an ardent temperament and a strong phy- 
sique, she urged her fleet charger over the twelve miles 
of rough and rocky ground that intervened between her 
and the object of her passionate devotion. 

Meanwhile a party of volunteers had made the neces- 
sary preparations for the execution, in the valley trav- 
ersed by the branch. Beneath the site of Pfout's and 



l82 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

Russell's stone building there was a corral, the gate-posts 
of which were strong and high. Across the top was laid 
a beam, to which the rope was fastened, and a dry-goods 
box served for the platform. To this place Slade was 
marched, surrounded by a guard, composing the best- 
armed and most numerous force that has ever appeared 
in Montana Territory. 

The doomed man had so exhausted himself by tears, 
prayers, and lamentations, that he had scarcely strength 
left to stand under the fatal beam. He repeatedly ex- 
claimed, " My God ! my God ! must I die ? Oh, mv dear 
wife !" 

On the return of the fatigue party, they encountered 
some friends of Slade, staunch and reliable citizens and 
members of the Committee, but who were personally at- 
tached to the condemned. On hearing of his sentence, 
one of them, a stout-hearted man, pulled out his hand- 
kerchief and walked away, weeping like a child. Slade 
still begged to see his wife most piteously, and it seemed 
hard to den}^ his request ; but the bloody consequences 
that were sure to follow the inevitable attempt at a res- 
cue, that her presence and entreaties w r ould have cer- 
tainly incited, forbade the granting of his request. Sev- 
eral gentlemen were sent for to see him in his last 
moments, one of whom, (Judge Davis) made a short ad- 
dress to the people ; but in such low tones as to be in- 
audible, save to a few in his immediate vicinity. One of 
his friends, after exhausting his powers of entreaty, 
threw off his coat and declared that the prisoner could 
not be hanged until he himself was killed. A hundred 
guns were instantly levelled at him ; whereupon he 
turned and fled ; but, being brought back, he was com- 
pelled to resume his coat, and to give a promise of future 
peaceable demeanor. 

Scarcely a leading man in Virginia could be found, 
though numbers of the citizens joined the ranks of the 
guard when the arrest was made. All lamented the stern 
necessity which dictated the execution. 

Everything being ready, the command was given, 
"Men, do your duty," and the box being instantly 



THE VIGILANTES OP MONTANA. 1 83 

slipped from beneath his feet, he died almost instan- 
taneously. 

The body was cut down and carried to the Virginia 
Hotel, where, in a darkened room, it was scarcely laid 
out, when the unfortunate and bereaved companion of 
the deceased arrived, at headlong speed, to find that all 
was over, and that she was a widow. Her grief and 
heart-piercing cries w T ere terrible evidences of the depth 
of her attachment for her lost husband, and a consider- 
able period elapsed before she could regain the command 
of her excited feelings. 

J. A. Slade was, during his connection with the Over- 
land Stage Company, frequently involved in quarrels 
which terminated fatally for his antagonists. The first 
and most memorable of these was his encounter with 
Jules, a station-keeper at Julesburg, on the Platte River. 
Between the inhabitants, the emigrants and the stage 
people, there was a. constant feud, arising from quarrels 
about missing stock, alleged to have been stolen by the 
settlers, which constantly resulted in personal difficulties 
such as beating, shooting, stabbing, etc., and it was from 
this cause that Slade became involved in a transaction 
which has become inseparably associated with his name, 
and which has given a coloring and tone to all descrip- 
tions of him, from the date of the occurrence to the pres- 
ent day. 

There have been so many versions of the affair, all of 
them differing more or less in important particulars, that 
it has seemed impossible to get at the exact truth; but 
the following account may be relied on as substantially 
correct: 

From overlanders and dwellers on the road we learn 
that Jules was himself a lawless and tyrannical man, tak- 
ing such liberties with the coach stock and carrying mat- 
ters with so high a hand that the company determined 
on giving the agency of the division to J. A. Slade. In a 
business point of view, they were correct in their selec- 
tion. The coach went through at all hazards. It is not 
to be supposed that Jules would submit to the authority 
of a new-comer, or, indeed, of any man that he could in- 



1 84 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

timidate; and a very limited intercourse was sufficient to 
increase the mutual dislike of the parties, so far as to oc- 
casion an open rupture and bloodshed. Slade, it is said, 
had employed a man discharged by Jules, which irritated 
the latter considerably; but the overt act that brought 
matters to a crisis was the recovery by Slade of a team 
" sequestrated " by Jules. Some state that there had 
been a previous altercation between the two; but, whether 
this be true or not, it appears certain that on the arrival 
of the coach, with Slade as a passenger, Jules determined 
to arrest the team, then and there; and that, finding Slade 
was equally determined on putting them through, a few 
expletives were exchanged, and Jules fired his gun, 
loaded with buck-shot, at Slade, who was unarmed at 
the time, wounding him severely. At his death, Slade 
carried several of these shot in his body. Slade went 
down the road, till he recovered of his wound. Jules left 
the place, and in his travels never failed to let everybody 
know that he would kill Slade, who, on his part, was not 
backward in reciprocating such promises. At last, Slade 
got well; and, shortly after, was informed that his en- 
emy had been " corralled by the boys/' whereupon he 
went to the place designated, and, tying him fast, shot 
him to death by degrees. He also cut off his ears, and 
carried them in his vest pocket for a long time. 

One man declares that Slade went up to the ranch 
where he had heard that Jules was and, " getting the 
drop on him," that is to say, covering him with his pistol 
before he was ready to defend himself, he said, " Jules, I 
am going to kill you;" to which the other replied, "Well, 
I suppose I am gone up; you've got me now;" and that 
Slade immediately opened fire and killed him with his 
revolver. 

The first- story is the one almost universally believed 
in the West, and the act is considered entirely justifiable by 
the wild Indian fighters of the frontier. Had he simply 
killed Jules, he would have been justified by the accepted 
Western law of retaliation. The prolonged agony and 
mutilation of his enemy, however, admit of no excuse. 

While on the road, Slade ruled supreme. He would 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 1 85 

ride down to a station, get into a quarrel, turn the house 
out of windows, and maltreat the occupants most cruelly. 
The unfortunates had no means of redress, and were 
compelled to recuperate as best they could. On one of 
these occasions, it is said, t he killed the father of the fine 
little half-breed boy, Jemmy, whom he adopted, and who 
lived with his widow after his execution. He was a gen- 
tle, well-behaved child, remarkable for his beautiful, soft 
black eyes, and for his polite address. 

Sometimes Slade acted as a lyncher. On one occasion, 
so.me emigrants had their stock either lost or stolen, and 
told Slade, who happened to visit their camp. He rode, 
with a single companion, to a ranch, the owners of which 
he suspected, and opening the door, commenced firing at 
them, killing three and wounding the fourth. 

As for minor quarrels and shootings, it is absolutely 
certain that a minute history of Slade's life would be one 
long record of such practices. He was feared a great 
deal more, generally, than the Almighty, from Kearney, 
west. There was, it seems, something in his bold reck- 
lessness, lavish generosity, and firm attachment to his 
friends, whose quarrel he would back, everywhere and at 
any time, that endeared him to the wild denizens of the 
prairie, and this personal attachment it is that has cast a 
veil over his faults, so dark that his friends could never 
see his real character, or believe their idol to be a blood- 
stained desperado. 

Stories of his hanging men, and of innumerable as- 
saults, shootings, stabbings and beatings, in which he 
was a principal actor, form part of the legends of the 
stage line; nevertheless, such is the veneration still cher- 
ished for him by many of the old stagers, that any insult 
offered to his memory would be fearfully and quickly 
avenged. Whatever he did to others, he was their friend, 
they say; and so they will say and feel till the tomb closes 
over the last of his old friends and comrades of the Over- 
land. 

It should be stated that Slade was, at the time of his 
coming West, a fugitive from justice in Illinois, where he 
killed a man with whom he had been quarrelling. Find- 



1 86 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

ing his antagonist to be more than his match, he ran 
away from him, and, in his flight, picking up a stone, he 
threw it with such deadly aim and violence that it pene- 
trated the skull of his pursuer, over the eye, and killed 
him. Johnson, the Sheriff, whd pursued him for nearly 
four hundred miles, was in Virginia City not long since, 
as w T e have been informed by persons who knew him 
well. 

Such was Captain J. A. Slade, the idol of his followers, 
the terror of his enemies and of all that were not within 
the charmed circle of his dependants. In him, generos- 
ity and destructiveness, brutal lawlessness and courteous 
kindness, firm friendship and volcanic outbreaks of fury, 
were so mingled that he seems like one born out of date. 
He should have lived in feudal times, and have been the 
comrade of the Front de Bceufs, De Lacys, and Bois 
Guilberts, of days almost forgotten. In modern times, 
he stands nearly alone. 

The execution of Slade had a most wonderful effect 
upon society. Henceforth, all knew that no one man 
could domineer or rule over the community. Reason 
and civilization then drove brute force from Montana. 

One of his principal friends wisely absconded, and so 
escaped sharing his fate, which would have been a thing 
almost certain had he remained. 

It has often been asked why Slade's friends were per- 
mitted to go scot free, seeing that they accompanied him 
in all his " raids," and both shared and defended his wild 
and lawless exploits. The answer is very simple. The 
Vigilantes deplored the sad but imperative necessity for 
the making of one example. That, they knew, would be 
sufficient. They were right in their judgment, and im- 
movable in their purpose. Could it but be made known 
how many lives were at their mercy, society would win- 
der at the moderation that ruled in their counsels. Ne- 
cessity was the arbiter of these men's fate. When the 
stern Goddess spoke not, the doom was unpronounced, 
and the criminal remained at large. They acted for the 
public good, and when examples were made, it was be- 
cause the safety of the community demanded a warning to 



THE VIGILANTES Ofi MONTANA. 1 87 

the lawless and the desperate, that might neither be de^ 
spised nor soon forgotten. 

The execution of the road agents of Plummer's gang 
was the result of the popular verdict and judgment 
against robbers and murderers. The death of Slade was 
the protest of society on behalf of social orc|er and the 
rights of man. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE EXECUTION OF JAMES BRADY, FOR SHOOTING MURPHY, 
AT NEVADA. 

11 Murder most foul and most unnatural." — Shakespeare. 

Early in the summer of 1864, the Committee were 
called upon to visit the stern retribution due to those who 
wantonly and maliciously attempt to assassinate a fellow- 
creature, upon James Brady, a resident of the Lower- 
Town, more generally known as Nevada City. The case 
was clear, so far as the moral guilt of the accused was 
concerned, as will fully appear from the subjoined ac- 
count of the transaction; but there are not a few who 
measure the extent of guilt by its consequences, and re- 
fuse to examine the act itself on its own merits. Now, 
we have always held that a man who fires at another, 
deliberately and with malice prepense, inflicting upon 
him a wound of any kind, is as much a murderer as if 
the shot had proved instantly fatal. The other judgment 
of the case depends upon the relative goodness or bad- 
ness of ammunition, the efficiency of the weapon, and the 
expertness of the marksman. Hence, to hit the mark is 
murder; but to aim at it, and make rather a wide shot, 
is manslaughter only. If a ball glances on a man's ribs, 
it is manslaughter; if it goes between them, it is mur- 
der. This line of argument may satisfy some people; 
and that it does do so, we know; at the same time it is 
not a doctrine that we can endorse, being fully convinced 



1 88 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

of its utter want of foundation, in right reason or com- 
mon sense. Murphy, the victim of Brady's shot, was 
believed to be dying; the physicians declared he could 
not live many hours, and for this crime Brady was 
executed. Some kind-hearted but weak-headed indi- 
viduals think that the murderer ought to have been 
spared, because Murphy had a strong constitution, and, 
contrary to all expectations, recovered; but what the 
state of a man's health has to do with the crime of the 
villain who shoots him, will to us forever remain an en- 
igma as difficult as the unravelling of the Gordian knot. 
The proper course, in such cases, seems to be, not the 
untying of the knot aforesaid, but the casting on of 
another, in the shape of a road agent's necktie. 

At about eleven p.m., the stillness of the summer's 
night that had closed in upon the citizens of Nevada was 
broken by two pistol shots fired in rapid succession. The 
executive officer of the Committee heard the reports, as 
he was retiring to bed; but the sounds were too familiar 
to a mountaineer to attract any special attention, and he 
lay down at once to sleep. In a few minutes, however, 
he was rstartled from his quick coming slumber by the 
sudden entrance of a friend who told him to get up, for 
there was a man shot. Hastily dressing himself, he 
found that an individual named Jem Kelly was a prisoner 
on the charge of being an accomplice in the deed. Who 
had fired the shots was not known, the man having run 
off with all speed, before he could be arrested. A guard 
of two Vigilantes was left in charge of Kelly, and the offi- 
cer went quickly to Brady's saloon, where he first heard, 
from bystanders, that they thought Brady himself was 
the criminal, but that he had escaped. The wounded 
man confirmed this statement, and an examination of the 
premises showed a bullet-hole in the window through 
which the assassin had fired. The second shot had been 
fired from the door-step. 

A detail of twelve men were ordered to search the 
town for Brady, while the captain and three others 
started for Virginia City, with the intention of capturing 
him if he could be found there, or on the road thither. 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 1 89 

On arriving at Central City, they ascertained from a 
citizen whom they met on the street, that a man dressed 
in black clothes, and otherwise answering the description 
of the fugitive, had passed through, and that he was ap- 
parently intoxicated. They went on to Virginia, and on 
arriving there, just about midnight, they found that the 
only house in which a light appeared was the Beaver 
Head saloon, at the corner of Idaho and Jackson streets, 
now John How & Co.'s store. 

One of the party knew Brady personally, and on enter- 
ing he at once recognized him in the act of drinking with 
another man at the bar. The captain stepped up and 
asked, " Is your name Brady ?" " Yes," said he. " Then 
you are my prisoner," answered the captain. On his in- 
quiring what was the charge against him, he was told 
that he was arrested for the murder of Murphy. The 
prisoner immediately started of on a loud harangue, but 
was stopped by the captain, who told him to keep quiet, 
and added, " You will have a fair trial in the morning." 

Brady was taken down to Nevada by his captors, and 
confronted with his victim, who was lying in his own 
house. " Murphy," said the captain, " is this the man 
that shot you ?" The wounded man fixed his gaze on the 
prisoner, and replied faintly, "It is." The guard then 
took Brady and marched him down town, to the house 
where Kelly was confined. The two men were given 
into the custody of a strong and well-armed party for 
the night. The death of Murphy was hourly expected 
by the attendant surgeons, and all around him. 

In the morning, Brady was taken before the Commit- 
tee, who sat in the Adelphi Hall, where they had been 
convened for that purpose. About fifty members were 
present, and the charge against the prisoner was thor- 
oughly investigated. The trial commenced about eleven 

A.M. 

Meanwhile, Kelly had confessed that he had kept bar 
for Brady on that day, and that he knew that there was 
an old quarrel, and consequently ill feeling existed be- 
tween Brady and Murphy. The commencement of this 
feud dated back as far as the preceding summer. This 



19O THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

much of his testimony was correct and truthful, and was 
corroborated by other witnesses. He then went on to 
swear that he had nothing to do with the murder himself; 
that the first thing he knew about the affray was the fir- 
ing of a shot through the window, followed by the dis- 
charge of another into the door-step, and before he could 
see who it was that had done the deed, the man had run 
away. 

Brady, at first, pretended that he had shot the wrong 
man by mistake; but he admitted at his trial that he 
had really aimed and fired the (supposed) fatal shot. He 
said that had he been sober he would not have com- 
mitted the rash act, and he added, that after shooting, he 
went next door to his cabin, and sat there for about five 
minutes; that he then became uneasy, and started for 
Virginia, flinging his pistol away into the Gulch, on his 
road up. The pistol was found and produced at the 
trial. 

The evidence produced was so entirely conclusive as 
to admit of no doubt. The offence was deliberate and 
cold-blooded murder, so far as the prisoner was con- 
cerned, and he believed the same till the moment of his 
, execution. Sentence of death by hanging was pro- 
nounced. 

With regard to Kelly the evidence adduced at the trial 
had led to some new developments concerning his share 
in the transaction. It was positively sworn that he had 
handed the pistol to Brady, across the bar; and that the 
understanding was that he was to take the assassin's 
place, inside the saloon, leaving him free to act on the 
outside; that, on receiving the pistol, Brady went out 
with it under his coat, and going into his cabin, he re- 
mained there for a few minutes, and then, walking to the 
window he fired, with deliberate aim, through the win- 
dow, without previous words, or warning of his intention. 

Kelly was sentenced to receive fifty lashes on the bare 
back, which punishment he duly received, after the exe- 
cution. 

The prisoner (Brady) sent for W. Y. Pemberton, now 
practising law at Helena and requested him to settle his 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. I9I 

worldly affairs, in legal form. Accordingly, that gentle- 
man drew his will, and the necessary deeds for the dis- 
posal of his property, after which he said that he must 
have a letter written to his daughter. He commenced 
to dictate it, but the language of the epistle reminded 
him so forcibly of his own wretched condition that he 
was unable to proceed, and covering his face with his 
hands, he ran to his bed, exclaiming, " Oh, my God! 
finish it yourself." The writer furnishes the following 
note of the letter: 

"My Dear Daughter: You will never see me again. 
In an evil hour, being under the control and influence of 
whiskey, I tried to take the life of my fellow-man. I 
tried to shoot him through a window. He will in all 
probability die — and that at my hands. I cannot say 
that I should not suffer the penalty affixed to the viola- 
tion of law. I have been arrested, tried and sen- 
tenced to be hanged by the Vigilance Committee. In 
one short hour I will have gone to eternity. It is an 
awful thought, but it is my own fault. By the love I 
feel for you, in this, my dying hour, I entreat you to be 
a good girl. Walk in the ways of the Lord. Keep 
Heaven, God and the interest of your soul before your 
eyes. I commend and commit you to the keeping of 
God. Pray for my soul. Farewell, forever. 

"Your father, James Brady." 

At four o'clock p.m. he was marched from his place 
of confinement to the gallows, escorted by a guard of 
two hundred men, fully armed. At least five thousand 
persons were present at the execution. The gallows was 
about half a mile east of Nevada, and to save time and 
expense, a butcher's hoist was used for the purpose, a box 
and plank being rigged for a drop. When the rope had 
been adjusted, and the fatal preparations were all com- 
pleted, he was asked if he wished to say anything to the 
people. He addressed the crowd, telling them that it 
was the first action of the kind that he had done; that 
he was intoxicated and insane; that he hoped his execu- 
tion would be a warning to others, and that God would 



192 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

have mercy on his soul. The trap fell, and James Brady 
ceased to exist. After hanging for half an hour, the 
corpse was cut down and given to the friends of the de- 
ceased for burial. 

Jem Kelly was present at the execution of his friend, 
and when all was over he was marched by the guard, 
down to an unfinished house in Nevada. Here a halt 
was called, and the necessary arrangements for the whip- 
ping were quickly made. Being asked to take off his 
shirt, he said, " the shirt, leave it on;" but on be- 
ing told that it would be spoiled, he removed it. The 
culprit's hands were now tied together, and made fast 
to a beam overhead; after which five men inflicted the 
punishment, each giving ten lashes with a raw-hide. 
Kelly showed no fortitude whatever, roaring and scream- 
ing at every lash of the hide. At the termination of the 
flogging he remarked, " Boys, if I hadn't been so fat, I 
should have died sure." Nevada was no home for this 
low-minded villain, who left with all speed; and resum- 
ing the career most congenial to a man as fond as he 
was of gold without labor, and horses without purchase, 
he came to the same end as his companion, Brady; but 
there was this difference between them — Kelly was a 
thief and murderer by trade; Brady was an honest man, 
and had never before ventured into the path of crime. 
Many felt sorry for his fate; but the old miners who 
heard of Kelly's execution shrugged their shoulders and 
muttered, " Served him right; he ought to have gone up 
long ago; I don't believe in whipping and banishing; if 
a fellow ain't fit to live here, he ain't fit to live nowhere 
by thunder — that's so, you bet your life," etc., etc., which 
terse and technical series of interjectional syllogisms 
contain more good practical common sense than many a 
calf-bound folio, embodying the result of the labors of 
many a charter-granting, plunder-seeking body, humon- 
pusly styled a " Legislature," west of " the River/- 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 1 93 



CHAPTER XXV. 

THE SNAKE RIVER SCOUT — CAPTURE AND EXECUTION OF 
JEM KELLY. 

" The pitcher that went often to the well was broken at last."— 
Irish Proverb. 

In the month of July, 1864, the coach going from Vir- 
ginia to Salt Lake was robbed, and a large booty in gold 
dust was the reward of the road agents. This was no 
sooner reported to the Committee, than prompt meas- 
ures were taken to pursue the perpetrators of the crime. 

A party of twenty-one of the old veterans who had 
hunted down Plummer's band left Nevada, on Sunday, 
the 28th day of August; and camped at William's Ranch 
for the night. On Monday the party rode all day, never 
halting from breakfast time till evening. The rain fell 
in torrents, rendering cooking impossible; so a hard bite 
was all that was available, and each man coiled himself 
up in his blanket with his saddle for a pillow, and 
growled himself to sleep as best he could. Four guards 
came into camp with the stock at daylight; whereupon 
the troop saddled up, without taking breakfast, every 
one of the " crowd" being at the same time wet, "dry," 
hungry and saucy. One of the boys had managed to 
bring along a bottle of (contraband) whiskey, as he said, 
in case of snake-bites; but, under the circumstances, as 
far as can be ascertained, no one refused a mouthful of 
the aqua vitae. They had forgotten the "weights and 
measures" of their school days, and at that camp, it was 
found that there were no scruples to a dram. As one of 
the party observed, it was " big medicine, you bet." A 
ride in the wet of fifteen miles brought them to Joe 
Patte's and breakfast, which latter being despatched, 
and the former having received their adieux, the " boot 
and saddle" once more sounded, and they proceeded on 
their journey, changing horses at the Canyon Station, 



194 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

and finally halting on the banks of Medicine Lodge 
Creek, in the midst of a heavy rain storm, without 
shelter. 

In the morning everybody felt wet, of course, and un- 
amiable, probably; but as " business is business" when 
Montana Vigilantes are afoot, nothing objectionable to 
morality was offered, except an odd oath, caused by a 
stiff-legged cayuse or a refractory buckle, which, it is 
charitably hoped, the rain washed from the record. The 
probabilities favor the supposition, if the angel made the 
entry in his book on the banks of that creek. If not, 
provided he was a good angel, he took no notes till after 
breakfast and dinner, at Camos Creek, had somewhat 
soothed and mollified the water-soaked but irrepressible 
, rangers. 

s Saddling up once more, the party loped along a little 
more cheerfully, reaching Snake River at ten p.m., w r here 
they, " their wearied limbs to rest," lay down — in a hay- 
stack. 

After breakfast they turned their horses' heads down 
stream, and camped in the sage brush, without water, 
and with poor feed for stock. The Vigilantes were sup- 
perless. On Friday they borrowed the necessary " bat- 
terie de cuisine" from the Overland station, and cooked 
their breakfast, after which they rode to Meek and Gib- 
son's Ferry, where they camped, and turned out the stock 
in Fort Hall bottom. 

A suspicious character having entered the camp, two 
of the boys tracked him to his own " lodging on the cold 
ground;" finding however, that there was no evidence 
of anything wrong about his halting-place, they re- 
turned. 

At the Ferry the Vigilantes met an old friend — a 
brother of the early days of '63-4. He was freighting 
poultry and hogs to Virginia from Salt Lake City. Glad 
to see his old comrades on their righteous errand, he 
presented them with a thirty pound pig. A family of 
Morrisites living in a cabin at the Ferry cooked it for 
them, and it was consumed with immense zest. Here 
they learned that Jem Kelly had boarded in the house, 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. I95 

and, on being asked to pay, he had threatened to whip 
the old man. He said that he had a partner coming 
from Salt Lake, and that when he arrived he should 
have a plenty of money. He also intimated to one of 
the men living there that his partner was one of the men 
who robbed Hughes, when a passenger in the coach. 
Kelly also said that there was a big camp of emigrants, 
with a lot of mules, near there, on their way to Oregon. 
He proposed that they should stampede the stock, and 
that if the men offered a large enough reward, they 
should return them; but if not, they would drive them 
off and sell them. The man refused to have any hand 
in the matter, and was travelling tov/ards the Butte, to 
buy some lame cattle from the emigrants, when Kelly, 
who started with him, fell behind, and drawing a pistol, 
presented it at him. The man turned at once, and 
Kelly, who saw something that scared him in the ex- 
pression of the man's eye, had not nerve to shoot, though 
he wanted his money. He therefore turned it off as a 
joke. 

The' man failed to purchase the cattle and returned. 
Kelly, who had parted from him, came in some time dur- 
ing the next day, bringing with him a horse, saddle and 
bridle. The emigrants had this horse to drive loose 
stock, and, as is usual with animals so trained, he followed 
the wagons, picking up his own living. One day he 
lagged behind, and they went back for him. It is sup- 
posed Kelly watched them from behind the crest of a 
hill, and catching the horse rode off with him. 

A party of ten men, with a captain, were sent to scout 
on the Portneuf Creek, and were mounted on the best 
animals. They went to Junction Station, Fort Hall, 
where the overland boys shod the^horses for them. From 
that place they rode to Portneuf. The squad made a 
night march, and camped at eleven p.m., without feed for 
man or beast, during a hurricane of wind. Oliver's 
coach went by, and when the driver spied the horses, he 
thought of robbers, and the passengers looked mightily 
scared. They drove by on a keen run, much to the 
amusement of the boys, who saddled up at two o'clock 



I96 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

a.m. The men had no bedding and no "grub." The 
culinary furniture was a tin cup, in each man's belt, and 
a good set of teeth. They started at two o'clock a.m., 
because the stock was so hungry and restless. They 
kept a bright lookout for Kelly. 

At daybreak they saw a camp-fire. They rode up think- 
ing of good times, but found only a lot of Shoshone In- 
dians, who had little but choke-cherries to eat. The chief 
shortly after came up to the captain, and offered him a 
broiled trout, which he ate and then fell asleep, while 
the others were regaling themselves on choke-cherries, 
supplied by little naked pappooses. An old squaw see- 
ing the leader asleep, when the sun rose, built a willow 
wigwam over him, and when he woke, he seemed con- 
siderably exercised at the sight of his house, which 
seemed like Jonah's gourd. This was too much for 
both the boys and the Indians, and they laughed heart- 
ily. 

The detachment saddled up and went on to Portneuf, 
where they ordered breakfast at eleven p.m., at Oliver's Sta- 
tion. Here they learned that a party of California pros- 
pectors, ten in number, all dressed in buckskin, had 
caught Kelly, in a haystack. He had another horse by 
this time (he had sold one at the ferry). The party went 
back for two and a half miles, on Sunday morning. The 
captain was ahead, scouting with one of the boys, and 
found the dead body of a man floating in the creek. 
There was a shot wound through the back of the head. 
The corpse was wrapped in a grey blanket, with a four 
strand lariat round the neck and shoulders, as though 
the body had been dragged and sunk. There were two 
camp fires near, w T hich seemed to be ten or fifteen days 
old. They were situated in a thicket of willows. There 
was a large boulder at the bottom of the eddy, where 
there was no current, and the men thought that the 
body had been tied to it, but that it had broken loose 
and floated. 

The Vigilantes went back, got a pick and shovel, and 
buried him. The body was dreadfully decomposed, and 
it was both difficult and disgusting to raise it; however, 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 197 

they consulted, and slipping willows under it, they 
reached over, and joining the tops, lifted out altogether, 
and laid the petrified remains in their willow grave. 
Willows were placed below and around them, and 
having covered them with earth and stone, they, get- 
ting a tail-board from a pilgrim's wagon, wrote an in- 
scription, stating his finding by the Vigilantes, and the 
date of his burial. The men then jumped into the saddle, 
and rode until after night, coming up with a freight 
train for Virginia, camped on the road. The captain 
told his story, whereupon the wagon boss ordered 
them a good warm drink and a hearty supper, sending 
his herder to look after the stock. The command slept 
soundly till daylight, and then rode twenty-five miles 
to the ferry, to breakfast. They found the main body 
still camped there, and they were glad to see the Cali- 
fornia buckskin-rangers, and Jem Kelly in custody. 

A trial was called, and the evidence being heard, Kelly 
w r as unanimously condemned to death. While pinioned, 
he asked for his pipe, and got a smoke, which he seemed 
to enjoy very much. A knot was tied and greased, and 
when all was working right, the party marched down to 
a Balm of Gilead tree, and, in presence of the prisoner, 
rigged a scaffold by cutting a notch into the tree, and 
putting one end of a plank from a pilgrim-wagon into 
the notch, and supporting the other on a forked stick. 
The captain asked Kelly if he had anything to say. He 
answered that if he had never drunk any whiskey he 
would have been a better man. He said it was hard to 
hang him after whipping him. While he was on the 
trap, a couple of Shoshone warriors came up, and 
looked on with evident amazement. When the plank 
was knocked from under him, the Indians gave a loud 
"Ugh!" and started at full speed for their camp. After 
he had hung some fifteen minutes, the buckskin party 
came up, and having made some inquiries, they helped 
to bury him in a willow coffin. The Vigilantes then re- 
turned home without any further incident of travel 
worth recording. 



I98 THE VIGILANTES OE MONTANA. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

ARREST AND EXECUTION OF JOHN DOLAN, ALIAS JOHN 
COYLE, ALIAS "HARD HAT," FOR ROBBING JAMES 
BRADY OF $700 IN GOLD. 

" As the stout fox, on thieving errand caught, 
Silent he dies, nor hopes nor cares for aught." — Anonymous. 

Late in the month of August, 1864, a man named 
James Brady, of Nevada, was robbed of $700 in gold 
by John Dolan, alias John Coyle, alias " Hard Hat," 
who had been living with him, and took the money 
from his trousers' pocket. For some time the real thief 
remained unsuspected. He cunningly offered to assist 
in the search, and treated Brady out of the money; but 
suspicion being aroused by his sudden disappearance, 
pursuit was made in the direction of Utah. John Mc- 
Grath followed him to Salt Lake City, and there found 
that he had changed his name to John Coyle, and that 
he had gone on to Springville, whither his pursuer fol- 
lowed and arrested him. Dolan stipulated that he should 
be preserved from the Vigilantes, on the road home, which 
was agreed to, and McGrath and his prisoner arrived at 
Nevada on the 16th of September. In the mean time, 
letters had been received from parties ignorant of this 
transaction, informing the Committee that Dolan was a 
pal of Jem Kelly, who was hanged at Snake River; and 
evidence of his complicity with the road agents was also 
satisfactorily adduced. He was the spy who " planted " 
the robbery of Hughes in the Salt Lake coach. It is 
nearly certain that the reason he fled to Utah was that 
he might receive his share of the plunder. 

After a patient and lengthened trial, his guilt being 
perfectly clear, he was condemned to be executed by a 
unanimous vote of the committee. Three hundred dollars 
of the lost money was recovered, and, though Dolan at 
first denied his guilt, yet the production of peculiar nug- 






THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 1 99 

gets being irresistible evidence, he at last confessed the 
crime and offered to make up the balance, if he should 
be let go. This could not be acceded to, and, therefore, 
the Committee made good the amount lost by their re- 
fusal to Brady. 

It was on Saturday evening, September 17th, that the 
execution of Dolan took place, and a scene more fraught 
with warning to the desperate never was enacted before 
the gaze of assembled thousands, 

About sundown, strong parties of Vigilantes from 
Highland, Pine Grove and Virginia, joined the armed 
force already on the ground belonging to Nevada and 
Junction. The prisoner was confined in the ball-room, 
next door to the Jackson House, and here he was pin- 
ioned before being brought out. The companies from 
Virginia, armed to the teeth, formed in two parallel 
lines, enclosing an avenue reaching from the door through 
which the prisoner must make his exit, on his way to 
the scaffold. The silence and the sternly compressed 
lips of the guard showed that they felt the solemnity of 
the occasion, and that they were prepared to repulse, 
with instant and deadly action, any attempt at the rescue 
threatened by the prisoner's companions in crime and 
sympathizers. All being ready a small posse of trust- 
worthy men were detailed as a close guard in front, rear 
and on both flanks of the prisoner. The signal being 
given, the commander of the guard gave the word, 
"Company! draw revolvers!" A moment more and the 
weapons, ready for instant use, were held at the Vigi- 
lantes' " ready," that is to say, in front of the body, the 
right hand level with the centre of the breast, muzzle 
up, thumb on the cock, and the forefinger extended 
alongside the trigger-guard. u Right face! Forward, 
march!" followed in quick succession, and, immediately 
the procession was fairly in motion, the files of the guard 
were doubled. In close order they marched through a 
dense crowd to the gallows, a butcher's hoist standing 
in the plain, at the foot of the hills, about half a mile 
northeast of Nevada, where a fatigue party and guard 
had made the necessary preparations for the execution. 



200 THE VIGILANTES OP MONTANA. 

The multitude must have considerably exceeded" six 
thousand in number, every available spot of ground 
being densely packed with spectators. The face of the 
hill was alive with a throng of eager and excited people. 
The column of Vigilantes marched steadily and in per- 
fect silence through the gathering masses, right up to 
the gallows. Here they were halted and, at a given 
signal, the lines first opened and then formed in a circle 
of about fifty yards in diameter, with an interval of 
about six feet between the ranks, and facing the crowd, 
which slowly fell back before them, till the force was in 
position. Renewed threats of an attempt at rescue hav- 
ing been made, the word was passed round the ranks, 
and the guard, in momentary expectation of a rush from 
the anti-law-and-order men, stood ready to beat them 
back. The prisoner, who exhibited a stolid indifference 
and utter unconcern most remarkable to witness, was 
placed standing, on a board supported in such a manner 
that a touch of a foot was all that was necessary to con- 
vert it into a drop. 

The executive officer then addressed the crowd, stat- 
ing that the execution of criminals such as Dolan was a 
matter of public necessity, in a mining country, and that 
the safety of the community from lawlessness and out- 
rage was the only reason that dictated it. He raised his 
voice, and finished by saying, in a manner that all under- 
stood, " It has been said that you will rescue the prisoner; 
don't try it on, for fear of the consequences. What is to 
be done has been deliberately weighed and determined, 
and nothing shall prevent the execution of the male- 
factor.'* 

Dolan being now asked if he had anything to say, he 
replied in a voice perfectly calm, clear and unconcerned^ 
that he admitted having committed the crime with which 
he was charged; but he said that he was drunk when he 
did it. He added that he was well known in California 
and elsewhere, and had never been accused of a similar 
action before. He then bade them all good-by, and 
requested that some of his friends would bury his body. 
The rope was placed round his neck; the plank was 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 201 

struck from beneath his feet, and the corpse swayed to 
and fro in the night breeze. He never made a percepti- 
ble struggle. The dull sound of the drop was followed, 
or rather accompanied, by the stern order to the crowd, 
repeated by one hundred voices, " Fall back!" The 
glancing barrels and clicking locks of five hundred re- 
volvers, as they came to the present, sounded their dead- 
ly warning, and the crowd, suddenly seized with a wild 
panic, fled, shrieking in mad terror, and rolling in heaps 
over one another. A wagon and team were drawn up 
outside the circle held by the Vigilantes, but such was 
the tremendous stampede, that, taking them broadside, 
they rolled over before the onslaught of the mob, like 
ninepins, and over wagon and struggling mules poured 
a living torrent of people. Fortunately no great injury 
was done to any one, and they gradually returned to the 
vicinity of the scaffold. As the rush was made, the hill 
appeared to be moving, the simultaneous motion of the 
multitude giving it that appearance. 

Just before the drop fell, one of the guard, who had 
newly arrived in the country, being pressed on by a tall, 
swarthy-looking reprobate, ordered him back, dropping 
his revolver level with his breast at the same instant. 
The villain quickly thrust his hand into his bosom, and 
the butt of a pistol was instantly visible within his grasp. 
" I say, you, sir!" observed the guard, " just move your 
arm a couple of inches or so, will you ? I want to hit 
that big white button on your coat." " H 1 !" ejacu- 
lated the worthy, retiring with the rapidity of chain 
lightning among the crowd. 

The people were then addressed by a gentleman of 
Nevada, who forcibly showed to them the necessity of 
such examples as the present. He reminded them that 
nothing but severe and summary punishment would be 
of any avail to prevent crime, in a place where life and 
gold were so much exposed. The prisoner had declared 
that he was drunk; but he had offered to return the 
money, though only in case he would be pardoned. This 
offer a due regard for the safety of the community for- 
bade their accepting. 



202 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

Dolan having been pronounced dead by several physi- 
cians, the body was given into the care of his friends; 
the Vigilantes marched off by companies, and the crowd 
dispersed. There was a solemnity and decorum about 
the proceedings of the Vigilantes that all admired. 

Before leaving the ground, a subscription was opened 
on behalf of the man whose money had been stolen, and 
the whole sum missing ($400) was paid to him by the 
Committee. This was an act of scrupulous honesty, 
probably never before paralleled in any citizens' court in 
the world. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

CAPTURE AND EXECUTION OF R. C. RAWLEY. 

" Justice is blind; but she has a long memory and a strong arm." — 
Proverb. 

Since the execution of Plummer, Ray, Stinson, Pizan- 
thia and Wagner, there had been no execution in Ban- 
nack. The example had been sufficient, and, though it 
could not be said that there was no crime in Bannack, 
yet the change from the wild lawlessness of the roughs, 
and the reign of terror caused by the presence of Plum- 
mer and his satellites, was most encouraging. Scores of 
men silently and quickly left Bannack for other regions. 
The dread of the " Vigilantes" was strongly impressed 
on every person, and though it is not easy to suppose 
that the nature of the desperadoes can be materially 
changed, yet it is tolerably certain, to those who have 
witnessed the effect of what the heralds would call " a 
noose pendent from a beam proper/' — that men of the 
worst morals and most unquestioned bravery — men 
whom nothing else could daunt — still maintain a quiet- 
ness of demeanor that, under any other circumstances 
than the fear of retribution by the halter, would surely 
be foreign to their very nature. 



THE VIGILANTES OE MONTANA. 203 

Among those who dreaded the arrival of the day of 
vengeance was a man passing by the assumed name of 
R. C. Rawley. He was no common loafer, originally; 
but was, under another name and with a fairer character, 
a merchant in a large Western city, from which, owing 
to what precise discreditable cause we are uninformed 
authentically, he emigrated to Colorado, and there gradu- 
ally sank down to the character and standard of a "bum- 
mer." It was evident to all who knew him that he was 
a man of education and of some refinement; occasionally 
remarks made in his sober moments attested this, but a 
long course of brutal dissipation had rendered his ac- 
quirements worthless, and had so debased his morals, 
that he associated only with the thieves and marauders 
whose guilty career terminated, as these pages have 
shown, upon the gallows. Robbed of all self-respect, 
and even ambition, R. C. Rawley, on his arrival in this 
country, attached himself as a hanger-on to the road 
agents, and was the constant tool and companion of 
Stinson, Forbes, Lyons and their associates. He some- 
times seemed to become ashamed of his conduct, and 
worked for short periods, honestly earning his living; 
but such spells of good conduct were only occasional. 
He returned, uniformly, to his old habits, " like the sow 
that is washed to her wallowing in the mire." Rawley 
was a good-looking man, and, but for his habit of intoxi- 
cation, he must have been handsome. 

In the winter of 1863-4, Rawley, though not closely 
identified with the band, yet bore a suspicious character, 
owing to his connection and association with them. He 
was seldom, indeed, on the road; but he acted as an in- 
side spy. As soon as the first blow was struck at the 
road agents, he became nervous and excited in his de- 
meanor, and, warned by the promptings of a guilty con- 
science, he suddenly left Bannack, on a winter's morning 
of such severity that nothing but the belief that detec- 
tion and punishment awaited him could have justified a 
sane man in undertaking a journey of any considerable 
length. He was popularly supposed to have gone south 
or to Boise. 



204 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

In an ill-starred hour, in the month of September, 
1864, unexpectedly to most people, but with the knowl- 
edge of the Vigilantes, who had kept track of his move- 
ments, he suddenly returned to Bannack, thinking, 
doubtless, that all danger was past. He came back in 
rags, to find all his old friends gone, and looked like a 
lone chicken on a wet day. For some time after his 
return he kept quiet, and went to work for a man who 
lived down the canyon, in the neighborhood of New 
Jerusalem. Those who knew him state that when he 
was sober, although he was not a first-class workman, 
yet he labored steadily and well; but, as may be conjec- 
tured, his frequent visits to Bannack, which always in- 
volved a spree of drunkenness, greatly impaired his use- 
fulness. 

During the time when he was under the influence of 
strong drink his old predilections were brought promi- 
nently forward, and he did not hesitate to utter threats 
of an unmistakable kind against the members of the 
Committee; and also to express his sympathy and iden- 
tification of interest with the men who had been hanged, 
stating that they were good men, and that the Commit- 
tee were strangling , ete. This kind of conduct 

was allowed to remain unpunished for some six weeks or 
two months; but, as Rawley began to get bolder and to 
defy the Committee, it was resolved that an end should 
be put to such proceedings. 

A meeting of the Vigilantes was called, and it was de- 
termined that his case should be thoroughly investi- 
gated. This was done, and, during the trial, evidence of a 
most convincing kind was adduced, of his actual com- 
plicity in the outrages perpetrated by the band, of his 
being a spy for them, and of his pointing out favorable 
opportunities for the commission of robbery. As his 
present line of action and speech left no doubt that he 
would connect himself with some new gang of thieves, 
and as it was more than suspected that such an organiza- 
tion was contemplated, it was determined to put a sud- 
den end to all such doings, by making an example of 
Rawley. 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 205 

A party was detailed for the work, and going down 
unobserved and unsuspected to New Jerusalem, they ar- 
rested him at night and brought him up to Bannack, 
without the knowledge of a single soul except his actual 
captors. As it was deemed necessary for the safety of 
society that a sudden punishment should be meted out to 
him in such a manner that the news should fall upon the 
ears of his associates in crime like a thunderbolt from a 
clear sky, he was taken to Hangman's Gulch, and, main- 
taining the most dogged silence and the most impertur- 
bable coolness to the last moment, he was hanged on 
the same gallows which Plummer himself had built for 
the execution of his own accomplice, Horan, and on 
which he himself had suffered. 

The first intelligence concerning his fate was obtained 
from the sight of his dead body, swinging in the wind 
on the following morning. Before his corpse was taken 
down for burial, a photographic artist took a picture of 
the scene, preserving the only optical demonstration ex- 
tant of the reward of crime in Montana. 

Thus died R. C. Rawley. A "passenger" or two at- 
tended his final march to the grave, and shrouded in the 
rayless gloom of a night as dark as despair, thus per- 
ished, unshrived and unknelled, the last of the tribe of 
spies, cut-throats and desperadoes, who, in the early 
days of Bannack, had wrought such horrors in the com- 
munity. 

The effect of the execution was magical. Not another 
step was taken to organize crime in Bannack, and it has 
remained in comparative peace and perfect security ever 
since, 



206 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

THE TRIAL AND DEATH OF JOHN KEENE ALIAS BOB BLACK, 
THE MURDERER OF HARRY SLATER. 

" Oh, my offence is rank; it smells to Heaven; 
It hath the primal, eldest curse upon it." — Hamlet. 

The stern yet righteous retribution which the Vigi- 
lantes had inflicted on the murderers and marauders in 
the southern and western part of the Territory had 
worked its effect, and little need was thereof any further 
examples for a long time in the vicinity of Virginia and 
Bannack; but the restless spirit of enterprise which dis- 
tinguishes the miners of the West soon urged the pio- 
neers to new discoveries, creating another centre of pop- 
ulation, and thither, like a heron to her haunt, gathered 
the miners, and, of course, those harpies who live by prey- 
ing upon them. 

Many others who had spent a roving and ill-regulated 
life, poured into the new diggings, which bore the name 
of Last Chance Gulch, situated on the edge of the ro- 
mantic valley of the Prickly Pear, where now stands the 
flourishing city of Helena, in the county of Edgerton, 
second in size and importance only to Virginia, and rap- 
idly increasing in extent, wealth and population. This 
place, which was then regarded as a new theatre of opera- 
tion for the desperadoes, is almost one hundred and twenty- 
five miles N.N.W. from the metropolis of Montana; and 
no sooner were the diggings struck, by a party consist- 
ing mainly of Colorado men, than a rush was made for 
the new gulch, and a town arose as if by magic. As 
usual in such cases, the first settlers were a motley 
crowd, and though many good men came with them, 
yet the number of " hard cases" was great, and was 
speedily increased by refugees from justice, and adven- 
turers not distinguished for morality, or for any undue 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 207 

deference for the moral precepts contained in the sixth 
and eighth commandments. 

Among the desperadoes and refugees who went over 
there was Harry Slater — a professional gambler, and a 
"rough" of reputation. At Salt Lake he would have 
shot Colonel W. F. Sanders in the back, had he not been 
restrained; and many an outrage had he committed. 
His sudden flight from Virginia alone saved his neck, a 
mere accident having saved him from summary execu- 
tion, the night before he left for Helena, where he met 
his death at the hands of John Keene, formerly a bar- 
keeper to Samuel Schwab, of the Montana Billiard Sa- 
loon, in Virginia, and originally, as will be seen from the 
biographical sketch appended to this chapter — from the 
"River," where, as "Bob Black," he figured as a first- 
class murderer and robber, before he came to the min- 
ing regions, and, quarrelling with Slater at Salt Lake 
City, roused again those evil passions, the indulgence of 
which finally brought him to the fatal tree, in Dry Gulch, 
where the thieves and murderers of the northern section 
of the country have so often expiated their crimes by a 
sudden and shameful death. 

Slater arrived first in Helena, and Keene, who had 
signalized his stay in Virginia by attempting to kill or 
wound Jem McCarty, the bar-keeper at Murat's Saloon 
(better known as the " Court's"), with whom he had a 
quarrel, by throwing large pieces of rock at him through 
the window, at midnight. He however missed his mark; 
the sleepers escaped, and the proprietors sustained little 
more damage than the price of broken windows. 

Slater did not know that Keene was in town, and was 
sitting in the doorway of Sam Greer's saloon, with his 
head down and his eyes shaded by his hat. Keene was 
walking along the street, talking to a friend, when he 
spied Slater within a few feet of him, and without say- 
ing a word, or in any way attracting the notice of 
Slater, he drew his pistol and fired two shots. The first 
took effect over the outer angle of the eye, ranging 
downwards and producing instant death. The murderer 
put up his pistol and turned quickly down an alley, near 



208 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

the scene of the murder. Here he was arrested by C. J. 
D. Curtis, and " X," coming up, proposed to deliver him 
over to Sheriff Wood. This being done, the Sheriff put 
him, for want of a better place, in his own house, and 
kept him well guarded. As thousands of individuals 
will read this account who have no distinct or accurate 
notion of how a citizen trial in the West is conducted, 
the account taken by the special reporter of the Montana 
Post, which is minutely exact and reliable in all its details, 
is here presented. The report says that after the arrest 
of Keene and his committal to the custody of the Sheriff, 
strong manifestations of disgust were shown by the 
crowd, which soon collected in front of the temporary 
prison, and a committee at once formed to give the mur- 
derer a hasty trial. Sheriff Wood, with what deputies he 
could gather round him in a few moments, sternly and 
resolutely refused to deliver the prisoner into the hands 
of the Committee, and at the same time made the most 
urgent and earnest appeals to those drmanding the cul- 
prit; but finally, being carried by main force from his 
post, and overpowered by superior numbers, his prisoner 
w T as taken from him. 

A court-room was soon improvised in an adjacent 
lumber yard, the prisoner marched into it, and the trial 
immediately commenced, Stephen Reynolds presiding, 
and the jury composed of Messrs. Judge Burchett (fore- 
man), S. M. Hall, Z. French, A. F. Edwards, Nich- 
ols, S. Kayser, Edward Porter, Shears, Major 

Hutchinson, £. C. Farmer and Ed. House. 

No great formality w T as observed in the commence- 
ment of the impromptu trial. Dr. Palmer, Charles 
Greer and Samuel Greer were sworn to testify. Dr. 
Palmer started to give his evidence, when he was inter- 
rupted by the culprit getting up and making a state- 
ment of the whole affair, and asserting that he acted in 
self-defence, as the deceased was in the act of rising 
with his hand on his pistol, and had threatened to take 
his life, and on a former occasion, in Great Salt Lake 
City, had put a derringer into his mouth. 

A Mr. Brobrecker then got up and made some very 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 2(X) 

appropriate remarks, cautioning the men on the jury not 
to be too hasty, but to well and truly perform their 
duty; weigh the evidence well, and give a verdict such 
as their conscience would hereafter approve. 

Sam Greer then testified to being an eye-witness of 
the deed. Heard the first shot; did not think anybody 
was hit; told Keene to "hold on," when he saw Slater 
fall over; did not hear any words spoken by either of 
the parties; did not know for certain whether the pris- 
oner was the man who shot Slater. 

Prisoner — I am the gentleman. 

Dr. Palmer said that when he made an examination 
of the deceased he did not find a pistol in his scabbard. 

Sam Greer — The pistol was put into my hands and 
placed behind the bar by me after the shooting took place. 

Charley Greer (sworn) — I have been sick lately, and 
was too excited to make any close observation; was not 
more than three or four feet from the party killed, when 
the shooting occurred; thought the man was shooting at 
some dogs in the saloon. 

Charles French (sworn) says — Came down street, 
stopped first door below Lyon's barber shop, at the 
clothing store of Barned; saw a man coming up the 
street towards Greer's saloon; heard some one cry, 
" Don't shoot, John; you'll hurt somebody." Soon after 
saw the man shoot; thought he was only firing off his 
pistol to scare somebody; but he saw the deceased man 
fall, and the other go down street and turn into an alley. 
Don't know the man that fired the shots. 

Q. — Is this the man ? 

A. — Cannot tell; it is too dark. [A candle was brought.] 
I think it is the same man; I am pretty certain it is. 

Dr. Palmer again testified — The deceased was shot 
over the right eye; never spoke, and died in three min- 
utes after being shot. 

James Binns (sworn) — Was on the opposite side of 
the street; heard the first shot fired, and saw the second 
one; heard Greer say, " hold on," and saw the man fall 
cover, and the other man go through the alley. 

[Calls by the crowd for James Parker.] 



210 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

James Parker (sworn) — Keene overtook me to-day on 
the summit, coming from Blackfoot. We rode together. 
He inquired of me whether Slater was in town, and 
told me of some difficulty existing between them, origi- 
nating in Salt Lake City; Slater having thrust a der- 
ringer into his mouth, and ran him out of the city. 

Prisoner here got up and said that he had told Parker 
he hoped he should not see Slater, as he did not want 
any difficulty with him, or some such conversation. 

James Geero (Hogal) called for (sworn) — [Here the 
wind extinguished our candle, and being in the open 
air, before we could relight it, we missed all the testi- 
mony but the last words. — Reporter.] Know nothing 
about the shooting affair. 

At this moment a voice in the crowd was heard cry- 
ing, "John Keene, come here" — which caused the 
guards to close around the prisoner. 

Mr. Phillips (sworn) — Don't know anything about the 
affair, but saw Slater fall; don't know who fired; know 
what Jem Geero says to be true. Saw Slater sit in this 
position [here Mr. P. showed the position Slater was in 
when shot]; saw Slater sitting in the door; did not see 
him have a revolver. 

Prisoner asked to have some witnesses sent for; he 
said that the original cause of his trouble with Slater 
was his taking Tom Baum and Ed. Copeland's part in a 
conversation about the Vigilance Committee of last year. 

Slater then called him a Vigilante , and drove him 

out of town; this was in Salt Lake City. Then he went 
to Virginia City, and from there to Blackfoot. Slater 
was a dangerous man; he had killed two men in Boise. 
He said he had gone to work at mining in Blackfoot, 
and came over to Helena on that day to see a man — 
Harlow. "When I first saw Slater to-day he smacked 

my face with both hands and called a Irish , 

and said he would make me leave town. I went and 
borrowed a revolver of Walsh." He requested them to 
send for an Irishman called Mike, who works on the 
brickyard, and who heard the last conversation. He 
wanted Mr. Phillips to give a little more testimony. 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 211 

Mr. P. — I know him to go armed and equipped; saw 
him draw a 'weapon on a former occasion; saw him make 
a man jump down twenty pair of stairs. 

Motion of the jury to retire. Cries of "aye!" and 
"no ! go on with the trial." A voice — " Send for Kelly, 
the man who was talking to Slater at the time he was 
shot." Cries of "Mr. Kelly! Mr. Kelly!" and "Dave 
St. John." Neither of these men could be found. 

A motion to increase the number of the guard to forty 
was carried. 

Prisoner again asked to have men sent for his wit- 
nesses. 

Jack Edwards — I am willing to wait till morning for 
the continuance of the trial, but the guard must be in- 
creased; I hear mutterings in the crowd about a rescue. 

A voice — It can't be done. 

Prisoner — I want a fair and just trial. 

Preparations were now made for a strong guard, form- 
ing a ring round the prisoner. 

Objections were raised, at this juncture, to whisper- 
ing being carried on between the culprit and his friends. 

A report came in that the Irish brickmaker could not 
be found at his shanty. 

A motion to guard the prisoner till morning, to give 
him time to procure witnesses, was lost; but being af- 
terward reconsidered, it was finally carried. 

Judge N. J. Bond then got up, and in a short and able 
speech to the jury, advised them to hear more testimony 
before convicting the prisoner. He also proposed the 
hour of eight a.m. next day for the meeting of the jury, 
and the hour of nine a.m., for bringing in their verdict. 
The latter proposition was agreed to, and the prisoner 
taken in charge by the guard. 

The dense crowd slowly dispersed, talking in a less 
bloodthirsty strain than they had done three or four 
hours before. 

SECOND DAY. 

The morning dawned serenely upon a large concourse 
of people standing before the prison and in front of the 



212 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

California Exchange — the place selected for a jury-room. 

The jury met a few minutes past eight a!m., and Mr. 
Boyden was sent for, and the examination of witnesses 
resumed. 

Mr. B. (sworn) — I have known Keene from childhood; 
know his parents and relatives; met Keene yesterday 
on the street; did not know him at first sight, until he 
spoke to me; told me that he was looking for a gentle- 
man in town who had as an act of kindness taken up 
some claims for him; was walking up street with me; 
then stopped to shake hands with a man named Kelly, 
who was sitting on some logs in the street, when we 
left him. Keene walked faster than I did, and was a 
few steps ahead of me; when in front of Greer's saloon 
I saw a man sitting in the door [Greer's]; did not see 
Keene draw his revolver, but saw the first shot fired; 

and heard Keene say, " You , you have ruined me in 

Salt Lake City." This w T as said after the shooting. Do 
not think Slater saw Keene at all. Slater was sitting 
down; I was about five feet from both men; John 
Keene was about ten feet from Slater. 

Q. — Was Kelly with you at that time ? 

A. — No; Kelly never left the place where he shook 
hands with Keene. 

Q. — Do you know anything about his character? 

A. — I have known him for about ten years; he left 
St. Paul about eighteen months ago; know nothing 
about his course or conduct since that time; he was con- 
sidered a fast young man, but good and kind-hearted; 
when I conversed with him yesterday he spoke about a 
man that had ruined him in Salt Lake City, but he did 
not mention any names; I did not know anything of 
the particulars of his [prisoner's] former difficulties with 
Slater; never saw Slater and Keene together. 

Michael McGregor (sworn) — I saw Keene in the after- 
noon; he came to me in the flat [a point in the lower 
part of the gulch] ; shook hands with me, and then left 
for town; did not know of the difficulty between Slater 
and Keene; Keene never spoke to me about it. 

D. St. John (sworn)— Don't know anything about the 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 213 

shooting affair ; was fifteen miles from here when it took 
place. [The witness here gave some testimony not bear- 
ing directly on the case, which was not admitted.] 

This closed the examination. The jury went into se- 
cret session. 

At ten minutes to ten o'clock, the jury came from their 
room to the place of trial, in the lumber yard, where 
preparations were made immediately for the reception 
of the prisoner. 

At ten o'clock, the culprit made his appearance on the 
ground, under an escort of about fifty well-armed men. 
A circle was formed by the guard and the prisoner 
placed in the centre. His appearance was not that of a 
man likely to die in a few minutes. He looked bravely 
around the crowd, nodding here and there to his ac- 
quaintances, and calling to them by name. Captain 
Florman having detailed his guard, gave the word, " All 
ready." The foreman of the jury then opened the sealed 
verdict: " We, the jury, in the case of the people of Mon- 
tana versus John Keene, find him guilty of murder in 
the first degree." 

A Voice— " What shall be done ?" 

Several voices in the crowd — " Hang him ! hang him !" 

The President here rose and said he wished to hear 
some expression of the public sentiment or motions in 
the case. 

Calls were made for Colonel Johnson. The Colonel 
addressed the assembly in an appropriate speech, which 
was followed by a few short and pertinent remarks from 
Judge Bond. 

On motion of A. J. Edwards, the testimony of Messrs. 
Boyden and Michael McGregor was read, and thereupon 
Judge Lawrence rose and said he was sure Keene had all 
the chance for a fair trial he could have wished, and 
motioned to carry the jury's verdict into execution. 
Passed. 

The prisoner here got up and said, " All I wanted was 
a fair and just trial ; I think I have got it, and death is 
my doom ; but I want time to settle up my business ; I 
am not trying to get away." 



214 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

He was granted an hour's time to prepare for his exe- 
cution. The committee fixed the hour of execution at 
half-past eleven o'clock a.m. Keene remarked that he 
hadn't any money to pay expenses — and was told that it 
should not cost him a cent. The guard now took charge 
of the doomed man, and escorted him to an adjacent house 
in order that he might arrange his affairs. 

At eleven a.m. crowds of people could be seen ascending 
the hill north of Helena, and not a small number of ladies 
were perceptible in the throng. The place of execution 
was chosen with a due regard to convenience and economy 
— a large pine tree, with stout limbs, standing almost 
alone, in a shallow ravine, was selected for the gallows. 

At eleven a.m. the prisoner, accompanied by the Rev. 
Mr. McLaughlin, arrived in a lumber wagon. A dry-goods 
box and two planks, to form the trap, were in the same 
vehicle. The unfortunate victim of his unbridled pas- 
sions sat astride of one of the planks, his countenance 
exhibiting the utmost unconcern, and on his arrival at 
the tree he said, " My honor compelled me to do what I 
have done." He then bade good-by to some of his ac- 
quaintances. The wagon having been adjusted so as to 
bring the hind axle under the rope, a plank was laid from 
the dry-goods box to another plank set upon end, and 
the trap was ready. 

At four minutes to twelve o'clock, the prisoner's arms 
were pinioned, and he was assisted to mount the wagon. 
Standing on the frail platform, he said, in a loud and dis- 
tinct voice : "What I have done, my honor compelled me 
to do. Slater run me from Salt Lake City to Virginia, 
and from there to this country. He slapped me in the 
face here, yesterday; and I was advised by my friends to 
arm myself. When Slater saw me, he said, ' There is the 

Irish — ; he has not left town yet.' Then I commenced 

firing. My honor compelled me to do what I have done." 
Here he called for a drink of water, which was procured 
as speedily as it could be brought to the top of the hill. 
He took a long, deep draught of the water, and the rope 
was adjusted round his neck. A handkerchief being 
thrown over his face, he raised his hand to it and said, 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 21 5 

"What are you putting that there for? Take it off." 
Stepping to the end of the trap, he said: "What I have 
done to Slater I have done willingly. He punished me 
severely. Honor compelled me to do what I have done. 
He run me from town to town ; I tried to shun him here; 

but he saw me — called me a , and smacked me in the 

face. I did not want any trouble with him ; my honor 
compelled me to do what I have done, I am here, and 
must die ; and if I was to live till to-morrow I would do 
the same thing again. I am ready; jerk the cart as soon 
as you please." 

At seven minutes past twelve the w T agon started, the 
trap fell, and Keene was launched into eternity. He fell 
three and a half feet without breaking his neck. A few 
spasmodic struggles for three or four minutes were all 
that was perceptible of his dying agonies. After hang- 
ing half an hour, the body was cut down and taken in 
charge by his friends. 

So ended the first tragedy at Helena. The execution 
was conducted by Mr. J. X. Biedler, and everything went 
off in a quiet and orderly manner. Many familiar faces, 
known to Virginia men in the trying times of the winter 
of '64, were visible. 

The effect, in Helena, of this execution was electrical. 
The roughs saw that the day had gone against them, and 
trembled for their lives. There were in town, at that 
time, scores of men from every known mining locality 
of the West, and many of them were steeped to the lips 
in crime. Such a decision as that now rendered by a 
jury of the people boded them no good. They saw that 
the citizens of Montana had determined that outrage 
should be visited with condign punishment, and that 
prudence dictated an immediate stampede from Helena. 
Walking about the streets, they occasionally approached 
an old comrade, and furtively glancing around, they 
would give expression to their feelings in the chartered 
form of language peculiar to mountaineers who consider 
that something extraordinary, unjust, cruel or hard to 
bear, is being enacted: "Say, Bill, this is rough, ain't it?" 
To which the terse reply was usually vouchsafed, " It is, 



2l6 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA, 

by thunder ; rough." Cayuses began to rise rapid- 
ly in demand and price. Men went " prospecting" (?) 
who had never been accused of such an act before ; and 
a very considerable improvement in the average appear- 
ance of the population soon became visible. 

A constant stream of miners and others was now pour- 
ing into the Territory, from the West, and the consequence 
was that the thinking portion of the citizens of Hele- 
na began to see that a regular organization of an inde- 
pendent Vigilance Committee was necessary to watch 
over the affairs of the young city, and to take steps for 
both the prevention of crime and for the punishment of 
criminals. There were in the town a considerable num- 
ber of the old Committee ; these, with few exceptions, 
gave the movement their sanction, and the new body was 
speedily and effectively organized, an executive elected, 
companies formed, under the leadership of old hands 
who had mostly seen service in the perilous times of '63- 
64. A sketch of their subsequent operations will appear 
in this work, and also an account of the terrible massacre 
and robbery of the passengers of the Overland coach, in 
the Portneuf canyon, near Snake River, I. T., together 
with an account of the capture and execution of Frank 
Williams, who drove the stage into the ambush. 

As it was asserted by Keene that Slater had slapped 
him in the face, and otherwise insulted him in Helena, 
before the firing of the fatal shot, it is proper to state 
that such w T as not the case. Slater was entirely ignorant 
of Keene's presence in town ; in fact, the other, it will be 
remembered, had only just previously arrived there, rid- 
ing with the witness who swore he crossed the Divide in 
his company. It is also an entire mistake to suppose 
that Keene was a man of good character or blameless 
life. The following statement of his previous career of 
crime, in the East, will be read with interest by many 
who are under the impression that the murder of Slater 
was his first offence. It is taken from the Memphis Ap- 
peal, of November 24th, 1865, and, of course, was written 
without any intention of being published in this work, 
or of furnishing any justification of the Vigilance Com- 



THE VIGILANTES OE MONTANA. 217 

mittee. If such had been the intention, it would have 
been a work of supererogation, for never was a case of 
murder in the first degree more fully proven. The hom- 
icide in broad daylight, and the evident malice " pre- 
pense" were matters of public notoriety. 

" Of the many strange circumstances born of and nur- 
tured by the past war, a parallel to the catalogue of 
crime herein given has been rarely, if ever, met with. 

" In this vicinity, near three years ago, the name of 
' Bob Black ' has, on more than one occasion, struck ter- 
ror to the hearts of a large number of countrymen, cot 
ton buyers and sellers, whose business compelled them 
to enter or make their exit from the city by the way of 
the Hernando or Horn Lake roads. 

" i Bob Black ' came to this city about six years ago, 
bringing with him a good character for honesty and in- 
dustry, and continued to work steadily here until the 
outbreak of the war. At that time he desired to enter 
the gunboat service, and for that purpose left this city 
for New Orleans; and, after remaining there some time, 
he joined the crew of a Confederate ram, the name of 
which has since slipped our memory. While on his way 
up from New Orleans, he became enraged at some 
wrong, real or fancied, at the hands of the captain of 
the ram, and being of a very impulsive nature, seized a 
marling-spike, and with a blow felled the captain to the 
deck. He was immediately placed in irons, and upon 
the arrival of the gunboat at Fort Pillow, was handed 
over to General Villipigue, for safe keeping. A court- 
martial was ordered, and while in progress, the evacua- 
tion of Fort Pillow became necessary, and the prisoner 
was transferred to Grenada, Mississippi. In the confu- 
sion of everything about Grenada at that time, he man- 
aged to effect his escape, and passing immediately through 
the Confederate lines, reached Memphis a few days after 
its occupation by the Federal authorities. Without any 
means to provide himself with food or clothing, with a 
mind borne down with trouble and suffering, and bereft 
of every hope from which the slightest consolation might 
be derived, the once honest man was driven to a career 



2l8 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

of desperation and crime which, if given in its details, 
would cause the bloodthirsty tales of the yellow-covered 
trash to pale for their very puerility and tameness. 

" In this condition of mind and body he remained in 
the city for some time, wandering about here and there; 
until one day, while standing at the Worsham House 
corner, he became involved in a quarrel with one James 
Dolan, a member of the Eighth Missouri Regiment, a 
large and powerful man, while Black was a man of me- 
dium height and stature. Words between the parties 
waged furious, and finally Dolan struck Black with a 
cane which he had with him; but quickly warding off the 
blow, Black wrenched the cane from his adversary and 
dealt him a blow, which so fractured the skull of Dolan 
as to cause death within a short time thereafter. Black 
effected his escape from the city, and with a couple of ac- 
complices, began a system of wholesale murder and rob- 
bery on the Hernando road. The atrocity and boldness 
of these acts created the greatest excitement in Mem- 
phis. 

" Several parties were robbed of sums varying from 
one to as high as ten thousand dollars, and, in one in- 
stance, a speculator was compelled to disgorge to the 
amount of ^m^ thousand dollars in gold. Of course, these 
rascals, of whom Black was the leader, often met with 
men who would make resistance rather than give up their 
money; and in this way no less than three or four fell 
victims to the fiendish spirit exhibited by these scoun- 
drels. It was finally agreed upon by the military com- 
manders of the district, on both sides, that means should 
be taken which would ensure their capture. Accordingly 
a squad of Blythe's battalion, of the rebel army, were 
sent in pursuit/ and succeeded in capturing, about ten 
miles out of the city, Black and his companion, a fellow 
young in years, named Whelan. They were placed in 
the guard-house in Hernando, we believe, and at a pre- 
concerted signal attacked the guard, and mounting some 
horses belonging to the soldiers, made off at a rapid rate. 
The guard immediately started in pursuit, and coming 
upon Whelan, who was some distance behind Black, shot 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 2ig 

and killed him. Black again escaped, and applied him- 
self with more vigor than ever to the plundering, steal- 
ing and robbing of everybody and everything that came 
within his reach. He would frequently ride into this 
city at night, passing through the lines at will; and, as 
an instance of his audacity, on one occasion rode down 
Adams Street, and fired several shots into the station- 
house. It was reported that he had accumulated large 
sums of money, and the report proved correct. As his 
business became either too tiresome or too dangerous, 
he came to the city, disguised, and took passage on a 
boat for the North. Since that time, and until recently, 
nothing has been heard from him. It seems that after 
leaving Memphis, he went to St. Paul, Minnesota, and 
embarked in the staging and saloon business, under his 
proper name, John Keene. His restless spirit could not 
stand the monotony of such a dull business (to him), and, 
organizing a band of some twenty men, he started for 
the Territories. " 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

CAPTURE AND EXECUTION OF JAKE SILVIE ALIAS JACOB SEA- 
CHRIEST, A ROAD AGENT AND MURDERER OF TWELVE 
YEARS, STANDING, AND THE SLAYER OF TWELVE MEN. 

"Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." 
— God's Law. 

The crimes and punishment of many a daring desper- 
ado have been chronicled in these pages; but among 
them all, none was more worthy of death than the blood- 
stained miscreant whose well-deserved fate is recorded 
in this chapter. According to his own confession — made 
when all hope was gone, and death was inevitable, and 
when nothing was to be gained by such a statement, but 
the disburdening of a conscience oppressed by the weight 
of guilt — Jacob Seachriest was a native of Pennsylvania, 



220 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

and had been a thief, road agent, and murderer for twelve 
years; during which time he had murdered, single-handed 
or in company with others, twelve individuals. 

In a former chapter of this history — the one detailing 
the arrest and execution of Jem Kelly at Snake River — 
it will be remembered that the body of a man, shot 
through the back of the head, was found in a creek by a 
patrol of the Vigilantes, and buried in a willow coffin. 
The full particulars of the tragedy we are unable to fur- 
nish to our readers; but Seachriest confessed that he and 
his comrades cast lots to determine who should commit 
the bloody deed, it being repugnant, even to their notions 
of manhood, to crawl up behind an unarmed man, sitting 
quietly on the bank of a creek, and to kill him for the 
sake of what he might chance to possess, without ex- 
changing a word. The " hazard of the die" pointed out 
Seachriest as the assassin; and with his pistol ready 
cocked, he stole upon his victim and killed him instant- 
ly, by sending a ball through his brain. A stone was 
fastened to the body, and it was sunk in a hole formed 
by an eddy in the stream, the thieves having first appro- 
priated every article of value about his person. 

The captain was much moved by the sad spectacle, 
though well accustomed to the sight of murdered vic- 
tims, having served through the war against the border 
ruffians in " Bleeding Kansas," and having gone through 
a checkered career of adventure, including five years' life 
by the camp-fire. He said, with much emotion, "Boys, 
something tells me I'll be at the hanging of this man's 
murderer, within twelve months of this day;" and so it 
fell out, though most unexpectedly. 

Shortly after the execution of John Keene for the mur- 
der of Slater, information was sent to the Committee, 
that a man named Jack Silvie had been arrested at Dia- 
mond City — a flourishing new mining camp in Confed- 
erate Gulch, one of the largest and richest of the placer 
diggings of Montana. The town is about fifteen miles 
beyond the Missouri, and about forty miles east of Hel- 
ena. The charges against the culprit were robbery, ob- 
taining goods under false pretences, and various other 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 221 

crimes of a kindred sort. It was also intimated that he 
was a man of general bad character, and that he had con- 
fessed enough to warrant the Committee in holding him 
for further examination, though the proof of his com- 
mission of the principal offence of which he was accused 
was not greater, at the time, than would amount to a 
strong presumption of guilt. 

The messenger brought with him copies of the confes- 
sion made by the prisoner, under oath, before the proper 
person to receive an obligation. The substance of his 
story was that he w r as an honest, hard-working miner; 
that he had just come into the country, by the way of 
Salt Lake City; that on reaching Virginia City, and while 
under the influence of liquor, he had fallen into bad com- 
pany, and was initiated into an organized band of rob- 
bers. He gave the names of about a dozen of the mem- 
bers of the gang, and minutely described the signs of 
recognition, etc. It was evident from his account that 
the ceremonies attending the entry into this villainous 
fraternity were simple and forcible, although not legal. 
The candidate was placed in the centre of a circle formed 
of desperadoes; one or two revolvers at full cock were 
presented at his head, and he was then informed that his 
taking the obligation was to be a purely voluntary act 
on his part; for that he was at perfect liberty to refuse to 
do so; only, in that case, that his brains would be blown 
out without any further ceremony. Though not a man 
of any education, Silvie could not afford to lose his brains, 
having only one set, and he therefore consented to pro- 
ceed, and swore through a long formula, of which he 
said he recollected very little distinctly, except a pledge 
of secrecy and of fidelity to the band. 

On receipt of the intelligence, a captain, with a squad 
of four or five men, was immediately despatched to Dia- 
mond City, with orders to bring the prisoner to Helena 
as soon as possible. The party lost but little time in the 
performance of their duty, and on the following day the 
chief of the Committee rode out, as previously agreed 
upon, in company with X (a letter of the alphabet having 
singular terrors for evil-doers in Montana, being calcu- 



222 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

lated to awaken the idea of crime committed and punish- 
ment to follow, more than all the rest of the alphabet, 
even if the enumeration were followed by the repetition 
of the Ten Commandments,) and meeting the guard in 
charge of the prisoner, they accompanied them into 
town. Silvie was confined in the same cabin in which 
John Keene passed his last night on earth. A strong 
guard was detailed for the purpose of watching the pris- 
oner, and the Committee being summoned, the case was 
investigated with all due deliberation; but the Commit- 
tee were not entirely satisfied that the evidence, though 
complete, was all of such a reliable character as to jus- 
tify a conviction; and, therefore, they preferred to ad- 
journ their inquiry, for the production of further testi- 
mony. This was accordingly done, and the prisoner was 
removed to an obscure cabin, in a more remote part of 
the town, where the members of the Committee would 
have an opportunity of free access to him, and might 
learn from his own lips what sort of a man they had to 
deal with. 

They were not long in arriving at a satisfactory con- 
clusion on this point. He at first adhered to and re- 
peated his old story and confession; but gaining a little 
confidence, and thinking there was not much danger to 
be apprehended from the action of the Committee, he at 
length denied every word of his former statement, made 
under oath ; said it was all false; that he knew of no such 
organization as he had told of, and declared that he had 
been compelled to tell this for his own safety. After 
being cross-questioned pretty thoroughly, he told the 
truth, stating that he had given a correct statement in 
the first place; only, that instead of joining the band in 
Virginia City, he had become acquainted with some of 
the leaders, on the Columbia River, on the way up from 
Portland, and that he had accompanied them to Virginia 
City, M. T., travelling thither by the way of Snake 
River. (It was on this trip that he committed the mur- 
der before described.) This was a fatal admission on the 
part of the prisoner, as it completed the chain of evidence 
that linked him with the desperadoes whose crimes have 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 223 

given an unenviable notoriety to the neighborhood of 
that affluent of the Columbia — the dread of storm-stayed 
freighters and the grave of so many victims of marauders 
— Snake River. 

Another meeting of the Executive Committee was 
called during the day, and after due deliberation, the 
verdict was unanimous that he was a road agent, and 
that he should receive the just reward of his crimes, in 
the shape of the penalty attached to the commission of 
highway robbery and murder, by the citizens of Mon- 
tana. After a long discussion, it was determined that he 
should be executed on the murderer's tree, in Dry Gulch, 
at an hour after midnight. The prison guards were 
doubled, and no person was allowed to hold converse 
with the prisoner, except by permission of the officers. 

The execution at night was determined upon for many 
sufficient reasons. A few of them are here stated: It 
had been abundantly demonstrated that but for the mur- 
der of Slater having occurred in open day, and before 
the eyes of a crowd of witnesses, Keene would have been 
rescued; and the moral effect produced by a public exe- 
cution, among the hardened sinners who compose a 
large part of the audience at such times, is infinitely less 
than the terror to the guilty, produced by the unan- 
nounced but inevitable vengeance which may at any 
moment be visited upon their own heads. Such a power 
is dreaded most by those who fear its exercise. 

The desire to die game, so common to desperadoes, 
frequently robs death of half its terrors, if not of all of 
them, as in the case of Boone Helm, Bunton and others. 
Confessions are very rarely made at public executions in 
the mountains; though scarcely ever withheld at private 
ones. There are also many honest and upright men who 
have a great objection to be telegraphed over the West as 
" stranglers," yet who would cheerfully sacrifice their 
lives rather than by word or deed become accessory to an 
unjust sentence. The main question is the guilt of the 
prisoner. If this is ascertained without doubt, hour and 
place are mere matters of policy. Private executions are 
fast superseding public ones, in civilized communities. 



224 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

There is not now — and there never has been — one up- 
right citizen in Montana, who has a particle of fear of 
being hanged by the Vigilance Committee. Concerning 
those whose conscience tells them that they are in dan- 
ger, it is of little consequence when or where they suffer 
for the outrages they have committed. One private exe- 
cution is a more dreaded and wholesome warning to 
malefactors than one hundred public ones. 

If it be urged that public executions are desirable from 
the notoriety that is ensured to the whole circumstances, 
it may fairly be answered that the action of Judge, 
and jury, and counsel is equally desirable, and, indeed, 
infinitely preferable, when it is effective and impartial, 
to any administration of justice by Vigilance Commit- 
tees; but, except in the case of renowned road agents 
and notorious criminals whose names are a by-word be- 
fore their arrest, or where the crime is a revolting out- 
rage, witnessed by a large number, the feeling of the 
community in a new camp is against any punishment 
being given, and the knowledge of this fact is the des- 
perado's chief reliance for escape from the doom he has 
so often dared, and has yet escaped. 

When informed of his sentence the prisoner seemed little 
affected by it, and evidently did not believe it, but re- 
garded it as a ruse on the part of the Committee to ob- 
tain a confession from him. After the shades of night 
had settled down upon the town of Helena, a minister 
was invited to take a walk with an officer of the Vigilantes, 
and proceeded in his company to the cabin where Silvie 
was confined, and was informed of the object in view in 
requesting his attendance. He at once communicated 
the fact to the culprit, who feigned a good deal of repent- 
ance, received baptism at his own request, and appeared 
to pray with great fervor. He seemed to think that he 
was cheating the Almighty himself, as well as duping the 
Vigilantes most completely. 

At length the hour appointed for the execution ar- 
rived, and the matter was arranged so that the prisoner 
should not know whither he was going until he came to 
the fatal tree. The Committee were all out of sight, 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA, 22$ 

except one man, who led him by the arm to the place 
of execution, conversing with him in the German tongue, 
which seemed still further to assure him that it was all a 
solemn farce, and that he should "come out all right;" 
but when he found himself standing under the very tree 
on which Keene was hanged, and beheld the dark mass 
closing in on all sides, each man carrying a revolver in 
his hand, he began to realize his situation, and begged 
most piteously for his life, offering to tell anything and 
everything, if they would only spare him. Being in- 
formed that that was "played out," and that he must die, 
his manner changed, and he began his confession. He 
:stated that he had been in the business for twelve years, 
and repeated the story before related, about his being 
•engaged in the perpetration of a dozen murders, and the 
final atrocity committed by him on Snake River. He 
stated that it was thought their victim was returning 
from the mines, and that he had plenty of money, 
which, on an examination of him after his death, proved 
to be a mistake. 

The long and black catalogue of his crimes was too 
much for the patience of the Vigilantes, who, though 
used to the confessions of ordinary criminals, were un- 
prepared to hear from a man just baptized such a fear- 
ful recital of disgusting enormities. They thought that 
it was high time that the world should be rid of such a 
monster, and so signified to the chief, who seemed to be 
of the same opinion, and at once gave the order to " pro- 
ceed with the execution." Seeing that his time was 
come, Silvie ceased his narrative and said to the men, 
" Boys, don't let me hang more than two or three days." 
He was told that they were in the habit of burying such 
fellows as him in Montana. The word " take hold " was 
given, and every man present " tailed on" to the rope 
which ran over the " limb of the law. " Not even the 
chief was exempt, and the signal being given he was run 
up all standing — the only really merciful way of hang- 
ing. A turn or two was taken with the slack of the rope 
round the tree, and the end was belayed to a knot which 
projects from the trunk. This being completed, the 



226 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

motionless body was left suspended until life was sup- 
posed to be extinct, the Vigilantes gazing on it in silence. 

Two men were then detailed, and stood, with an inter- 
val of about two* feet between them, facing each other. 
Between these "testers" marched every man present in 
single file, giving the pass-word of the organization in a 
low whisper. One man was found in the crowd who had 
not learned the particular " articulate sound representing 
an idea," which was so necessary to be known. He was 
scared very considerably when singled out and brought 
before the chief ; but after a few words of essential pre- 
liminary precaution he was discharged, breathing more 
freely, and smiling like the sun after an April shower, 
with the drops of perspiration still on his forehead. 

The Committee gradually dispersed, not as usually is 
the case, with solemn countenances and thoughtful 
brows, but firmly and cheerfully; for each man felt that 
his strain on the fatal rope was a righteous duty, and a 
service performed to the community. Such an incarnate 
fiend, they knew, was totally unfit to live, and unworthy 
of sympathy. Neither courage, generosity, truth nor 
manhood, pleaded for mercy in his case. He lived a 
sordid and red-handed robber, and he died unpitied the 
death of a dog. 

Very little action was necessary on the part of the 
Vigilance Committee to prevent any combination of the 
enemies of law and order from exerting a prejudicial 
influence on the peace and good order of the capital; in 
fact the organization gradually ceased to exercise its 
functions, and though in existence, its name more than 
its active exertions sufficed to preserve tranquillity. 
When Chiet Justice Hosmer arrived in the Territory and 
organized the Territorial and County Courts he thought 
it his duty to refer to the Vigilantes in his charge to the 
Grand Jury, and invited them to sustain the authorities 
as citizens. The old guardians of the peace of the Ter- 
ritory w T ere greatly rejoiced at being released from their 
onerous and responsible duties, and most cheerfully and 
heartily complied with the request of the Judiciary. 

For some months no action of any kind was taken by 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 22J 

them ; but in the summer of 1865 news reached them of 
the burning and sacking of Idaho City, and they were 
reliably informed that an attempt w r ould be made to burn 
Virginia also by desperadoes from the West. That this 
was true was soon demonstrated by ocular proof ; for 
two attempts were made, though happily discovered and 
rendered abortive, to set fire to the city. In both cases 
the parties employed laid combustibles in such a manner 
that but for the vigilance and promptitude of some old 
Vigilantes a most destructive conflagration must have 
occurred in the most crow r ded part of the town. In one 
case the heap of chips and whittled wood a foot in di- 
ameter had burnt so far only as to leave a ring of the 
outer ends of the pile visible. In the other attempt a 
collection of old rags was placed against the wall of an 
out-building attached to the Wisconsin House, situated 
within the angle formed by the junction of Idaho and 
Jackson streets. Had this latter attempt succeeded it is 
impossible to conjecture the amount of damage that 
must have been inflicted upon the town, for frame build- 
ings fifty feet high were in close proximity, and had they 
once caught fire, the flames might have destroyed at 
least half of the business houses on Wallace, Idaho and 
Jackson streets. 

At this time, too, it was a matter of every-day remark 
that Virginia was full of lawless characters, and many of 
them thinking that the Vigilantes were officially defunct, 
did not hesitate to threaten the lives of prominent citi- 
zens, always including in their accusations that they were 
strangling . This state of things could not be per- 
mitted to last; and, as the authorities admitted that they 
were unable to meet the emergency, the Vigilantes re- 
organized at once, with the consent and approbation of 
almost every good and order-loving citizen in the Terri- 
tory. 

The effect of this movement was marvellous ; the 
roughs disappeared rapidly from the town ; but a most 
fearful tragedy, enacted in Portneuf Canyon, Idaho, on 
the 13th of July, roused the citizens almost to frenzy. 
The Overland coach from Virginia to Salt Lake City 



228 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

was driven into an ambuscade by Frank Williams, 
and though the passengers were prepared for road 
agents, and fired simultaneously with their assailants, 
who were under cover and stationary, yet four of them, 
viz., A. S. Parker, A. J. McCausland, David Dinan and 
W. L. Mers were shot dead; L. F. Carpenter was slightly 
hurt in three places, and Charles Parks was apparently 
mortally wounded. The driver was untouched, and 
James Brown, a passenger, jumped into the bushes and 
got off unhurt. Carpenter avoided death by feigning to 
be in the last extremity, when a villain came to shoot 
him a second time. The gang of murderers, of whom 
eight were present at the attack, secured a booty of 
$65,000 in gold, and escaped undetected. 

A party of Vigilantes started in pursuit, but effected 
nothing, at the time; and it was not till after several 
months patient work of a special detective from Mon- 
tana, that guilt was brought home to the driver, who was 
executed by the Denver Committee on Cherry Creek. 
Eventually, it is probable that all of them will be cap- 
tured, and meet their just doom. 

The last offenders who were executed by the Vigilance 
Committee of Virginia City were two horse thieves and 
confessed road agents, named, according to their own ac- 
count, John Morgan and John Jackson alias Jones. They 
were, however, of the " alias" tribe. The former was 
caught in the act of appropriating a horse in one of the 
city corrals. He was an old offender, and on his back 
were the marks of the whipping he received in. Colorado 
for committing an unnatural crime. He was a low, 
vicious ruffian. His comrade was a much more intelli- 
gent man, and acknowledged the justice of his sentence 
without any hesitation. Morgan gave the names and 
signs of the gang they belonged to, of which Rattlesnake 
Dick was the leader Their lifeless bodies were found 
hanging from a hay-frame, leaning over the corral fence 
at the slaughter-house, on the branch, about half a mile 
from the city. The printed manifesto of the Vigilantes 
was affixed to Morgan's clothes, with the warning words 
written across it, " Road Agents, beware!" 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 229 

Outrages against person and property are still perpe- 
trated occasionally, though much less frequently than is 
usual in settled countries; and it is to be hoped that 
regularly administered law will, for the future, render a 
Vigilance Committee unnecessary. The power behind 
the throne of justice stands ready in Virginia City to 
back the authorities ; but nothing except grave public 
necessity will evoke its independent action. 

The Vigilance Committee at Helena and at Diamond 
City, Confederate Gulch, were occasionally called upon 
to make examples of irreclaimable, outlawed vagrants, 
who having been driven from other localities, first made 
their presence known in Montana by robbery or murder; 
but as the lives and career of these men were low, ob- 
scure and brutal, the record of their atrocities and pun- 
ishment would be but a dreary and uninteresting detail 
of sordid crime, without even the redeeming quality of 
courage or manhood to relieve the narrative. 

The only remarkable case was that of James Daniels, 
who was arrested for killing a man named Gartley 
with a knife near Helena. The quarrel arose during a 
game of cards. The Vigilantes arrested Daniels and 
handed him over to the civil authorities, receiving a 
promise that he should be fairly tried and dealt with 
according to law. In view of alleged extenuating cir- 
cumstances, the jury found a verdict of murder in the 
second degree (manslaughter). For this crime Daniels 
was sentenced to three years' incarceration in the Terri- 
torial prison by the Judge of the United States Court, 
who reminded the prisoner of the extreme lightness of 
the penalty as compared with that usually affixed to the 
crime of manslaughter by the States and Territories of 
the West. After a few weeks' imprisonment the culprit, 
who had threatened the lives of the witnesses for the 
prosecution during the trial, was set at liberty by a re- 
prieve of the Executive, made under a probably honest, 
but entirely erroneous construction of the law, which 
vests the pardoning power in the President only. This 
action was taken on the petition of thirty-two respect- 
able citizens of Helena. Daniels returned at once to the 



230 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

scene of his crime, and renewed his threats against the 
witnesses on his way thither. These circumstances 
coming to the ears of some of the Vigilantes, he was 
arrested and hanged the same night. 

The wife of Gartley died of a broken heart when she 
heard of the murder of her husband. Previous to the 
prisoner leaving Virginia for Helena, Judge L. E. Mun- 
son went to the capital expressly for the purpose of re- 
questing the annulling of the reprieve; but this being 
refused, he ordered the rearrest, and the Sheriff having 
reported the fugitive's escape beyond his precinct, the 
Judge returned to Helena with the order of the Acting- 
Marshal in his pocket, authorizing his Deputy to re- 
arrest Daniels. Before he reached town Daniels was 
hanged. 

That Daniels morally deserved the punishment he re- 
ceived there can be no doubt. That legally speaking he 
should have been unmolested is equally clear; but when 
escaped murderers utter threats of murder against peace- 
able citizens mountain law is apt to be administered 
without much regard to technicalities, and when a man 
says he is going to kill any one, in a mining country, it 
is understood that he means what he says, and must 
abide the consequences. Two human beings had fallen 
victims to his thirst of blood — the husband and the wife. 
Three more were threatened; but the action of the Vigi- 
lantes prevented the commission of the contemplated 
atrocities. To have waited for the consummation of his 
avowed purpose, after what he had done before, would 
have been shutting the stable door after the steed was 
stolen. The politic and the proper course would have 
been to arrest him and hold him for the action of the 
authorities. 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 2%l 



Biographical Notices of the Leading Road Agents of 
Plummer s Band and Others. 

CHAPTER XXX. 

HENRY PLUMMER. 

The following brief sketches of the career of crime 
whieh terminated so fatally for the members of the road 
agent band, are introduced for the purpose of showing 
that they were nearly all veterans in crime before they 
reached Montana; and that their organization in this 
Territory was merely the culminating of a series of high- 
handed outrages against the laws of God and man. 

Henry Plummer, the chief of the road agent band, 
the narrative of whose deeds of blood has formed the 
ground-work of this history, emigrated to California in 
1852. The most contradictory accounts of his place of 
birth and the scene of his early days are afloat; upwards 
of twenty different versions have been recommended to 
the author of this work, each claiming to be the only true 
one. The most probable is that he came to the West 
from Wisconsin. Many believe he was from Boston, 
originally; others declare that he was an Englishman by 
birth, and came to America when quite young. Be this 
as it may, it is certain, according to the testimony of one 
of his partners in business, that in company with Henry 
Hyer, he opened the " Empire Bakery," in Nevada City, 
California, in the year 1853. 

Plummer was a man of most insinuating address and 
gentlemanly manners under ordinary circumstances, and 
had the art of ingratiating himself with men and even 
with ladies and women of all conditions. Wherever he 
dwelt, victims and mistresses of this wily seducer were 
to be found. It was only when excited by passion that 
his savage instincts got the better of him and that he ap- 
peared — in his true colors — a very demon. In 1856 or 



232 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

1857, he was elected Marshal of the city of Nevada, and 
had many enthusiastic friends. He was re-elected and 
received the nomination of the Democratic party for the 
Assembly near the close of his term of office; but as he 
raised a great commotion by his boisterous demeanor, 
caused by his success they " threw off on him," and 
elected another man. 

Before the expiration of his official year, he murdered 
a German named Vedder, with whose wife he had an in- 
trigue. He was one day prosecuting his illicit amours, 
when Vedder came home, and on hearing his footsteps, 
he went out and ordered him back. As. the unfortunate 
man continued his approach, he shot him dead. For this 
offence, Plummer was arrested and tried, first in Nevada, 
where he was convicted and sentenced to ten years in the 
penitentiary; and second, in Yuba County, on a re-hear- 
ing with a change of venue. Here the verdict was con- 
firmed and he was sent to prison. 

After several months' confinement his friends petitioned 
for his release on the alleged ground that he was con- 
sumptive, and he was discharged with a pardon signed 
by Governor John P. Weller. He then returned to 
Nevada, and joined again with Hyer & Co. in the " La- 
fayette Bakery." 

He soon made a bargain with a man named Thomp- 
son, that the latter should run for the office of City Mar- 
shal, and if successful, that he should resign in Plummer's 
favor. The arrangement became public and Thompson 
was defeated. 

Shortly after this, Plummer got into a difficulty in a 
house of ill-fame with a man from San Juan, and struck 
him heavily on the head with his pistol. The poor fel- 
low recovered, apparently, but died about a year and a 
half afterward from the effect of the blow according to 
the testimony of the physician. 

Plummer went away for a few days, and when the 
man recovered he returned, and walked linked with him 
through the streets. Plummer went over to Washoe 
and joining a gang of road agents, he was present at the 
attack on Wells & Fargo's bullion express. He levelled 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 233 

his piece at the driver, but the barrels fell off the stock, 
the key being out, and the driver lashing his horses into 
full speed escaped. 

He stood his trial for this, and for want of legal proof 
was acquitted. He then returned to Nevada City. 

His next " difficulty" occurred in another brothel where 
he lived with a young woman as his mistress, and quar- 
relled with a man named Ryder, who kept a prostitute in 
the same dwelling. This victim he killed with a revolver. 
He was quickly arrested and lodged in the county jail of 
Nevada. It is more than supposed that he bribed his 
jailer to assist him in breaking jail. Hitherto, he had 
tried force; but in this case fraud succeeded. He walked 
out in open day. The man in charge, who relieved an- 
other who had gone to his breakfast, declared that he 
could not stop him for he had a loaded pistol in each 
hand when he escaped. 

The next news was that a desperado named Mayfield 
had killed Sheriff Blackburn, whom he had dared to ar- 
rest him, by stabbing him to the heart with his knife. 
Of course Mayfield was immediately taken into custody, 
and Plummer, who had lain concealed for some time, as- 
sisted him to get out of jail, and the two started for 
Oregon in company. To prevent pursuit, he sent word 
to the California papers that he and his comrade had 
been hanged in Washington Territory, by the citizens, 
for the murder of two men. All that he accomplished 
in Walla Walla was the seduction of a man's wife. He 
joined himself in Idaho to Talbert, alias Cherokee Bob, 
who was killed at Florence, on account of his connection 
with this seduction. Plummer stole a horse and went on 
the road. In a short time he appeared in Lewiston, and 
after a week's stay he proceeded with a man named Ridg- 
ley, to Orofino, where he and his party signalized their 
arrival by the murder of the owner of the dancing saloon 
during a quarrel. The desperado chief then started for 
the Missouri, with the intention of making a trip to the 
States. The remainder of his career has been already 
narrated, and surely it must be admitted that this 4t per- 
fect gentleman" had labored hard for the death on the 



434 tttM. VIGILANTES OF MONTANA, 

gallows which he received at Bannack, on the ioth of 
January, 1864. 

As one instance of the many little incidents that so 
often change a man's destiny, it should be related that 
when Plummer sold out of the United States Bakery to 
Louis Dreifus, he had plenty of money and started for 
San Francisco, intending to return to the East. It is 
supposed that his infatuation for a Mexican courtesan 
induced him to forego his design and return to Nevada 
City. But for this trifling interruption, he might never 
have seen Montana, or died a felon's death. The mission 
of Delilah is generally the same, whether her abode is 
the vale of Sorek or the Rocky Mountains. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

BOONE HELM. 

This savage and defiant marauder, who died with pro- 
fanity, blasphemy, ribaldry and treason on his lips, came 
to the West from Missouri in the spring of 1850. He 
separated from his wife, by whom he had one little girl, 
and left his home at Log Branch, Monroe County, hav- 
ing first packed up all his clothes for the journey. He 
went towards Paris, and, on his road thither, called on 
Littlebury Shoot, for the purpose of inducing him to go 
with him, in which he succeeded. 

Boone was, at this time, a wild and reckless character, 
when inflamed by liquor, to the immoderate use of which 
he was much addicted. He sometimes broke out on a 
spree, and would ride his horse up the steps and into the 
Court House. Having arrived at Paris, Boone tried hard 
to persuade Shoot to accompany him to Texas, and it is 
believed that he obtained some promise from him to that 
effect, given to pacify him, he being drunk at the time, 
for Shoot immediately afterward returned home. 

About nine p. m. Boone came from town to Shoot's house 
and woke him up out of bed. The unfortunate man went 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 235 

out in his shirt and drawers to speak with him, and as 
he was mounted, he stepped on to a stile-block, placing 
his hand on his shoulder, conversing with him in a friend- 
ly manner for a few minutes. Suddenly, and without 
any warning of his intention, Boone drew his knife and 
stabbed Shoot to the heart. He fell instantly, and died 
before he could be carried into the house. He spoke only 
once, requesting to see his wife. The murderer rode off 
at full speed. It seems that Boone had quarrelled with 
his wife, and was enraged with Shoot for not going with 
him to Texas, and that in revenge for his disappointment 
he committed the murder. Immediate pursuit was made 
after the assassin. 

Mr. William Shoot, the brother of the deceased, was 
at that time living in the town of Hannibal, and imme- 
diately on receipt of the news, he started in pursuit of 
the. criminal. Boone Helm had, however, forty miles 
start of him; but such good speed did the avenger make, 
that pursuer and pursued crossed Grand Prairie together, 
Shoot arriving at Roachport and Boone Helm at Boone- 
ville, within the space of a few hours. Telegrams de- 
scriptive of the fugitive were sent in all directions, and 
were altered as soon as it was discovered that the mur- 
derer had changed his clothes. Shoot returned to Pari§, 
and being determined that Helm should not escape, he 
bought two horses and hired Joel Moppen and Samuel 
Querry to follow him, which commission they faithfully 
executed, coming up with their man in the Indian Terri- 
tory. They employed an Indian and a Deputy Sheriff to 
take him, which they accordingly did. When ordered to 
surrender, he made an effort to get at his knife; but when 
the Sheriff threatened to shoot him dead if he moved, 
he submitted. He was brought back, and, by means of 
the ingenuity of his lawyers, he succeeded in obtaining 
a postponement of his trial. He then applied for a 
change of venue to a remote county, and at the next 
hearing the State was obliged to seek a postponement, 
on the ground of the absence of material witnesses. He 
shortly after appeared before a Judge newly appointed, 
and having procured testimony that his trial had been 



236 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

three times postponed, he was set free, under the law of 
the State. 

He came to California and joined himself to the con- 
fraternity of iniquity that then ruled that country. He 
either killed or assisted at the killing of nearly a dozen 
men in the brawls so common at that time in the Western 
country. In Florence, Idaho Territory, he killed a Ger- 
man called Dutch Fred, in the winter of 1861-2. The 
victim had given him no provocation whatever; it was a 
mere drunken spree and " shooting scrape." 

He also broke jail in Oregon, a squaw with whom he 
lived furnishing him with a file for that purpose. He es- 
caped to Carriboo. He was brought back; but the main 
witnesses were away when the trial took place, and the 
civil authorities were suspected of having substantial 
reasons for letting him escape. He was considered a 
prominent desperado, and w r as never known to follow 
any trade for a living, except that of road agent, in which 
he was thoroughly versed. 

Helm was a man of medium size, and about forty 
years old; hard-featured, and not intelligent looking. It 
was believed at Florence that a relative, known as " Old 
Tex," furnished money to clear him from the meshes of 
the law, and to send him to this country. If ever a des- 
perado was all guilt and without a single redeeming 
feature in his character, Boone Helm was the man. His 

last words were: "Kick away, old Jack; 1*11 be in h 1 

with you in ten minutes. Every man for his principles 
— hurrah for Jeff. Davis ! let her rip." 

GEORGE IVES. 

We have only a few words to add to the account al- 
ready given of this celebrated robber and murderer. He 
was raised at Ives* Grove, Racine County, Wisconsin, and 
was a member of a highly respectable family. It seems 
that life in the wild West gradually dulled his moral per- 
ceptions; for he entered, gradually, upon the career of 
crime which ended at Nevada, M. T. His mother for a 
long time believed the account that he sent to her, about 
his murder by the hands of Indians, and which he wrote 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 237 

himself. It is reported that sorrow and death have been 
busy among his relatives ever since. 

BILL BUNTON 

followed gambling as his regular calling, at Lewiston, 
Idaho, in the winter of 1861-2. In the summer of 1862, 
he shot a man named Daniel Cagwell, without provoca- 
tion. There was a general fracas at a ball, held on Copy- 
eye Creek, near Walla Walla. Bunton was arrested; but 
made his escape from the officer, by jumping on a fast 
horse and riding off at full speed. 

The first that was afterward heard of him was that he 
turned up in this country. In person, Bunton was a 
large, good-looking man, about thirty years of age, and 
rather intelligent. He had been for some years on the 
Pacific coast, where he had lived as a sporting man and 
saloon keeper. He was absolutely fearless, but was still 
addicted to petty theft, as well as to the greater enormi- 
ties of road agency and murder. His dying request, it 
will be remembered, w r as for a mountain to jump off, and 
his last words, as he jumped from the board, " Here goes 
it." 

Of Johnny Cooper we have already spoken. A word 
is necessary concerning the history of 

ALECK CARTER, 

which forms a strong contrast to the others. It appears 
that for several years this eminent member of Plummer's 
band bore an excellent character in the West. He was 
a native of Ohio, but followed the trade of a packer in 
California and Oregon, maintaining a reputation for 
honor and honesty of the highest kind. Large sums of 
money were frequently entrusted to his care, for which 
he accounted to the entire satisfaction of his employers. 
He left the " other side" with an unstained reputation; 
but falling into evil company in Montana, he threw off 
all recollections of better days, and was one of the lead- 
ing spirits of the gang of marauders that infested this 
Territory. It is sad to think that such a man should 



238 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

have ended his life as a felon, righteously doomed to 
death on the gallows. 

CYRUS SKINNER 

was a saloon-keeper in Idaho, and always bore a bad 
character. His reputation for dishonesty was well known, 
and in this country he was a bloodthirsty and malig- 
nant outlaw, without a redeeming quality. He was the 
main plotter of Magruder's murder. 

BILL HUNTER. 

Probably not one of those who died for their connec- 
tion with the road agent band was more lamented than 
Hunter. His life was an alternation of hard, honest 
work, and gambling. That he robbed and assisted to 
murder a Mormon, and that he was a member of the 
gang, there can be no doubt; but it is certain that this 
was generally unknown, and his usual conduct was that 
of a kind-hearted man. He had many friends, and some 
of them still cherish his memory. He confessed his con- 
nection with the band, and the justness of his sentence 
just before his death. His escape from Virginia, through 
the pickets placed on the night of the 9th of January, 
1864, was connived at by some of the Vigilantes, who 
could not be made to believe that he was guilty of the 
crimes laid to his charge. 

STEPHEN MARSHLAND 

was a graduate of a college in the States; and, though 
a road agent and thief, yet he never committed mur- 
der, and was averse to shedding blood. He w r as 
wounded in attacking Forbes's train, and his feet were 
so far mortified by frost when he was captured, that 
the scent attracted the wolves, and the body had to 
be watched all night. 

Concerning the rest of the gang nearly all that is 
know r n has already been related. They were, without 
exception, old offenders from the Pacific coast. The 
" bunch" on Ned Ray's foot was caused by a wound 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 239 

from a shot fired at him when escaping from the peni- 
tentiary at St. Quentin, California. This he told him- 
self, at Bannack. 

JAMES DANIELS. 

This criminal, the last executed by the Vigilantes, it 
should be generally understood, murdered a Frenchman 
in Tuolumne County, California, and chased another 
with a bowie-knife till his strength gave out. In Hel- 
ena he killed Gartley, whose wife died of a broken 
heart at the news; threatened the lives of the witnesses 
for the prosecution, and had drawn his knife, and con- 
cealed it in his sleeve, with the intent of stabbing Hugh 
O'Neil in the back, after the fight between Orem and 
Marley at the Challenge Saloon. He said he " would 

cut the heart out of the !" when an acquaintance 

who was watching him caught hold of him and told him 
he was in the wrong crowd to do that. Daniels renewed 
his threats when liberated, and was hanged; not because 
he was pardoned, but because he was unfit to live in the 
community. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

CONCLUSION. 

"All's well that ends well, ,, says the proverb. Peace, 
order and prosperity are the results of the conduct of 
the Vigilantes; and, in taking leave of the reader, the 
author would commend to the sound sense of the com- 
munity the propriety of maintaining, in readiness for 
efficient action if needed, the only organization able to 
cope with the rampant lawlessness which will always be 
found in greater or less amount in mining camps. 

At the same time let the advice be well understood 
before it is either commented upon or followed. Readi- 
ness is one thing; intermeddling is another. Only on 
occasions of grave necessity should the Vigilantes let 



240 THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 

their power be known. Let the civil authority, as it 
increases in strength, gradually arrogate to itself the ex- 
clusive punishment of crime. This is what is needed, 
and what every good citizen must desire; but let the 
Vigilantes, with bright arms and renewed ammunition, 
stand ready to back the law; and to bulwark the Terri- 
tory against all disturbers of its peace, when too strong 
for legal repression, and when it fails or is unable to 
meet the emergency of the hour. Peace and justice we 
must have, and it is what the citizens will have in this 
community; through the courts, if possible; but peace 
and justice are rights, and courts are only means to an 
end, admittedly the very best and most desirable means; 
and if they fail, the people, the republic that created 
them, can do their work for them. Above all things, let 
the resistless authority of the Vigilantes, whose power 
reaches from end to end of Montana, be never exerted 
except as the result of careful deliberation, scrupulous 
examination of fair evidence, and the call of imperative 
Necessity; which, as she knows no law, must judge 
without it, taking Justice for her counsellor and guide. 

Less than three years ago, this home of well-ordered 
industry, progress and social order, was a den of cut- 
throats and murderers. Who has effected the change ? 
The Vigilantes; and there is nothing on their record for 
which an apology is either necessary or expedient. Look 
at Montana, that has a committee; and turn to Idaho, that 
has none. Our own peaceful current of Territorial life 
runs smoothly, and more placidly, indeed, than the East- 
ern States to-day; but in Idaho, one of their own papers 
lately asserted that in one county sixty homicides had 
been committed, without a conviction; and another de- 
clares that the cemeteries are full of the corpses of vet- 
erans in crime and their victims. 

Leave us the power of the people as a last resort; and, 
where governments break down, the citizens will save 
the State. No man need be ashamed of his connection 
with the Virginia Vigilantes. Look at their record and 
say if it is not a proud one. It has been marvellous that 
politics have never intruded into the magic circle; yet so 



THE VIGILANTES OF MONTANA. 24 1 

it is, has been, and probably will be. Men of all ranks, 
ages, nations, creeds and politics are among them; and 
all moves like a clock, as can be seen on the first alarm. 
Fortified in the right, and acting in good conscience, 
they are "just, and fear not." Their numbers are great; 
in fact, it is stated that few good men are not in their 
ranks, and the presence of the most respectable citizens 
makes their deliberation calm, and the result impartially 
just. 

In presenting this work to the people, the author 
knows full well that the great amount of labor bestowed 
upon it is no recommendation of its excellence to a public 
that judges of results and not of processes; but one 
thing is sure: so far as extended research and a desire 
to tell the truth can affect the credibility of such a nar- 
rative, this history has been indited subject to both these 
regulations, since the pen of the writer gave the first 
chapter to the public. 

If it shall serve to amuse a dull hour, or to inform the 
residents of the Eastern States and of other lands of 
the manners and habits of the mountaineers, and of the 
life of danger and excitement that the miners in new 
countries have to lead before peace and order are set- 
tled on an enduring foundation — the author is satisfied. 
If in any case his readers are misinformed, it is because 
he has been himself deceived. 

As a literary production he will be rejoiced to receive 
the entire silence of critics as his best reward. He 
knows full well what criticism it deserves, and is only 
anxious to escape unnoticed. And now, throwing down 
his pencil, he heaves a sigh of relief, thankfully mur- 
muring, " Well, it is done at last." 



;........ ■ ; . "" . ■ ■ '"" ■ ■ . ■ ■ \A^ y^.: • - - " • 



' L. 



The Ykhlajtes 



of 



IIVCOItTT-^ILT^ 



A CORRECT HISTORY OF THE CHASE, CAPTURE, TRIAL, AND 
EXECUTION OF HENRY PLUMMER'S 



NOTORIOUS ROAD AGENT BAND. 



Forming the only Reliable Work ever offered to the Public. 



By PROF. THOS. J. DIMSDALE. 



Virginia City, M T. : 
ID. "W- TILTON, lE'iiTDlisIbLeir?., 

1882. 



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